Remember Me: Altered Memories
by Foowd
Summary: Everyone thought Spyro died the day he stopped Malefor and repaired the realms, however in truth he has been living life as a human since then, unaware of his past life, however soon he is thrust back into his old life with no memory of it at all, and with Malefor's rebirth on the horizon, he'll have to reconnect with his past, to save his future. A Remake of "Remember Me"
1. Prologue: To What We Have Lost…

**Author's Welcome:**

 **Hey yo…**

 **I bet you never expected this, did you? Of all the stories I have on here, why do I feel the need to do a remake of Remember Me? After all, everyone loved Remember Me (well at least, everyone who reviewed it, I'm sure there was someone out there who hated it) Why would I feel the need to remake this one?**

 **Well, four years changes quite a lot, I've grown exponentially as a writer since then, I've learned the tools to the trade (for the most part) and… well… I think I can do Remember Me better now. I remember back then one of the most common complaints I got was that my stories were too short, and now that time has passed and I looked upon it with older eyes, I think they're right. That and there are some things I wished I'd done, things I wish I'd expanded on.**

 **So we're going to do a remake, but just as with everything I do, it's not going to be your typical remake. Events might unfold in ways you never expect, so if you've read the original, you might still be in for some surprises.**

 **I also kinda want to take a small break from my crossovers, I'm not abandoning them but, I kinda want to take a step back and let ideas form so to any of you who like those stories, hopefully, you'll like this one too**

 **So grab a chair and be prepared to wonder what you did to deserve this, it's time to do Remember Me right.**

 **Spyro the Dragon is © Activision Games, I am not Activision, if I were, Sky- wait… what's that? Skylanders died off in favor of the return of Classic Spyro? Wow… a lot HAS changed since 2014… well crap! Who's going to be my beating dummy for these lame Activision based disclaimer jokes now?! Tony Hawk 5? Does anyone even still care about that? Yeah… that's what I thought! Damn you Activision! How dare you be smart for once! I will have VENGEANCE!**

* * *

 **Prologue: To What We Have Lost…**

* * *

Peace… something I've never experienced even once in my life, raised from birth to be Malefor's personal weapon. He had robbed me of it, stole it away with disturbing ease and a horrifying glee. Idly, I contemplated all of his talk of cleansing the world, and like always found myself scoffing, this time only in my mind. My body, tired from the recent battle, couldn't muster the energy to do more than moan, leaving me motionless on the soft grass. I didn't complain, not with how comfortable it actually was.

For once in my life, I felt almost at peace.

The world was saved, Malefor was finally gone, and his army was left in shambles without its leader. That said, why did I feel like something was missing? Only after a few moments of wondering did the realization finally come careening into my head. "Spyro!" I gasped as my eyes shot open, an action that blinded me for all of a few seconds. I blinked to clear away the haze and scanned the empty field I found myself in, hoping for any signs of my purple friend, but was only met with swaying grass and bright blue skies.

I waited for what felt like hours for any sign of Spyro, any at all, that he had survived the battle with Malefor. None ever came. I began to playback the final moments of the battle and everything leading up to it: losing Ignitus in the Belt of Fire, Spyro and I encountering Malefor, the world literally torn apart from the raging battle with my former master, Malefor being sealed away by The Ancestors, but nothing seemed to answer why Spyro wasn't here. I clearly remembered feeling him pressed against me, hugging me, his power engulfing us, and yet he's just... not here.

I then noticed the world wasn't in pieces anymore. Everything was fixed as if nothing had ever happened, as if the planet-destroying cracks and mountainous fountains of lava never existed. The beautiful sight allowed my mind to slowly put two and two together, and I remembered that just before I blacked out, Spyro had said he was going to repair the realms. I wasn't sure how, or if, he'd be able to do it, but... he did. He actually managed to repair the realms, yet it was at the cost of his own life. He died for me, for this world, without having gotten the chance to fully experience anything it had to offer.

I felt a sudden surge of anger wash over me at the injustice of it. Why did he, the purest and most caring soul I know, have to pay for saving us? I screamed as I slammed my forepaws on the grassy hill, claws tearing into the ground as I wailed at the top of my lungs. It couldn't be true. He had to be alive, he had to be! I won't accept this! I can't!

"Not Spyro, please, not him," I sobbed softly to myself as reality sunk in, crushing my heart and lungs, making each breathless sob feel like I was going to die.

I was alone again… truly alone…

Spyro was my only anchor, the only one there to remind me I wasn't beyond redemption. He always believed in me, pushed me along to better myself. Even when I shoved him away, he still tried his best to make me feel like I was worth something. But now? He's gone… one last thing for Malefor to take from me, one last twist of the knife before he finally died.

The peace that surrounded me was almost rendered into a sick joke now. "Here you go Cynder, the peaceful existence you've always wanted!" The world seemed to say, "But, you can't share it with your closest friend because he had to die to create it! Enjoy!"

Why? Why did **he** have to pay the price for **my** mistake? I was so upset that I almost felt sick. I couldn't even hope to calm myself, I just couldn't accept this! It wasn't right! But it was how it was, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was helpless, weak, and alone, just as I'd always been. And now, just as I always will be... Right, Malefor? I bet you're so proud of yourself. I'm glad you're dead, and that your horrid schemes were all for nothing!

"Cynder!"

I turned my head to see the surviving Guardians, Hunter, and Sparx running or flying up to me. Their hopeful expressions only served to make me feel worse. How could I face them now? How could I tell them that Spyro and Ignitus were both gone? Everyone began to gather around me and it didn't take long for them to notice my tear-soaked eyes. Their expressions dropped from happy and relieved to concerned and frightened.

Volteer was the first to speak, "Cynder? What's wrong? Where's Spyro?" He asked. I felt my stomach turn at the mention of Spyro's name, knowing full well the horrible truth I had to tell them.

I tried to make the words come forth, but they became caught in my throat. I was too overwhelmed with emotion to even speak, but they deserved to know. They **had** to know. "He's… he's gone!… He and Ignitus! They're both gone!" I screamed before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. I buried my face in Volteer's chest as he tried to comfort me, his large paw resting on the back of my head.

The group was all shocked. None, however, were as shocked as Sparx, who hovered in place, still as stone. Immediately, his shock turned to rage as he yelled, "I knew you were evil! You promised! You promised you'd look out for him! Keep him safe! You **lied** to me!"

I had never seen him like this before, Sparx was usually light in spirit, constantly joking and laughing, but here? He was enraged, and I couldn't blame him, Spyro was dead, and it was all my fault. I got his brother killed.

However, it seemed that Terrador didn't agree. "Sparx that's enough!" He growled. Sparx silently glared at Terrador, knowing better than to pick fights with a dragon such as him. "It is… heartbreaking to hear of Spyro and Ignitus' fates," He began. Terrador wasn't the kind of dragon who liked to show his emotions. He always liked to come off as stoic and in control, but his eyes betrayed him. I could see just how deeply this hurt him. "But… they would have wanted us to live, to be happy, to enjoy the peace they sacrificed themselves to give us," He said, his voice slightly cracking from the burning tears he was trying so hard to fight back.

"Fuck that," Sparx yelled, "This evil bitch lied to me! You were supposed to **protect** him, yet you let my brother die! We should have left you in convexity you fraud!" He screamed. The others just stared blankly, taken aback at the sheer ferocity of his words. Sparx was upset and he had every right to be. I **did** promise to keep Spyro safe, and I failed. "I never want to see you again! Do you hear me? Never!" He screamed before flying off.

Hunter went to follow but Terrador stopped him. "Let him go, Hunter. He needs time to grieve, to collect himself, we all need time to grieve," He said.

I felt Volteer's paw begin to stroke the base of my head. "Come now, Cynder, this is not your fault," He said. I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I knew better. I was the one who released Malefor. I set all of this in motion. All of this was my fault! I just wanted to die, to just curl up into a ball and slowly rot away. But, I knew Spyro would want me to go on. Despite how much it hurt, I had to go on, for him…

We all left after that. It was easy to forget that this was supposed to be a joyful event. We had finally beaten Malefor and ended the war, but at what cost? We lost two good dragons today, two good dragons who deserved to live, but fate had cruelly taken from us anyway. In the end, good people always had to pay the price…

* * *

 **A/N: The prologue had always been kinda weak in my eyes, I wanted it to be more emotional, and I had always regretted not writing Sparx's initial reaction to Spyro's "death".**

 **Also like I said before, this isn't going to be a one to one remake, things are going to be a bit different, but I am still using the original version as a template. I really hope this is coming out well, the last thing I want is for people to say "This remake sucks! I liked the old one better you HACK!" Like people do with every remake or reboot! (Legend of Spyro itself seems to suffer from this mindset ironically enough) Please, do leave your feedback as I always appreciate a helping hand.**

 **Update: As you may have noticed if you've read this before, the text is a bit different. That's because It's going under a kinda sorta revision of sorts. With help from one PsychoDragonKiller, who felt the story could be a bit better and offered to help me add some much needed polish to this little story.**

 **At his suggestion I've also decided to bump the rating up to "M", to remove the awkward censor swearing and allow for more detailed fight scenes.**

 **Don't fret, the story itself will be largely the same, it's just gonna be a bit better written is all.**


	2. Sweet Dreams are Made of These

**Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams are Made of These...**

* * *

 _ **Three Years Later…**_

 _ **Sanford, Maine, Human Realms…**_

* * *

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong at once? Where your entire day is just one slap in the face after another? Well, that pretty much described today for me. I had slept in late and missed the bus to school, my sleeping situation has been, let's just say, less than ideal. I've been having weird dreams lately, every night for the past five weeks without fail. That's over a month in case you're bad at math.

The dreams were typical fare, almost no relation to each other, but they always end the same way. This dragon comes from nowhere, huge, purple, yellow eyes with slit pupils, with a booming voice that kind of sounds like someone on one of those cop shows who's trying to hide their identity. He just swoops in and burns everything in sight along with any poor soul who had the misfortune of being involved in whatever my dream happened to be about that night.

Then, he'd always say the same thing to me every time, " _Surround yourself with all the lies you wish, you_ _ **know**_ _you can't run from your past, or me, sooner or later, I will come for my revenge,_ " then I'd wake up. This dragon bastard has been tormenting me for over a month now, I don't know where he came from, what he might represent, what "past" he seems so keen on keeping me from running from, or what "revenge" he's planning on getting. Maybe his revenge is making me miss the bus for the third time in a row? Because that was exactly what was happening right now.

Being a wimpy comic book nerd didn't help matters, these legs weren't built for running I'll tell you that much, but that damn bus was always **just** within reach, I kept chasing it hoping the driver will **eventually** notice me chasing it. But alas, today was determined to be as horrible as it could possibly be, as I managed to trip up on a curb, falling flat on my face. My face, palms, and legs all stung like needles as I slowly rose my head to see the bus merrily rolling away, leaving me behind.

Well, I guess I'm walking to school… again… I picked myself off the ground, thankfully, it wasn't **too** far a walk to my school from here, but still, given the choice between the two I'd take riding in the bus over walking the whole way any day. I noticed my reflection in the window of the store I had just fell in front of, my face was thankfully spared the wrath of the unforgiving concrete, although my blonde hair was now a bit messy. Looking at me, you'd probably only notice one thing unusual about me, and that was my inexplicably purple eyes. Everyone else in my family had blue eyes, but for some reason, mine were purple. My mom says it's probably some kind of birth defect, I was just thankful it was something minor like a weird eye color and not something horrible like a third arm.

I put the hood of my sweatshirt back over my head and began to make my trip to school, I was a senior in high school, so close to finally being free of the jerks that plagued Sanford High School (Go Spartans!) like a virus. I had a few friends, the only real close one I had was fellow comic geek Zack Abbott, but for the most part, I just tried to **survive** high school more than hang out in it.

My name is Jason Marcus Allen by the way, I was just your average seventeen year old geek from a small city in Maine, an average seventeen year old geek who's dreams are currently being menaced by puff the magic dragon's satanic cousin mind you, but average none the less. There was almost nothing notable about me really, although Zack always said my voice sounds a lot like the guy who played Frodo in Lord of the Rings for some reason, I don't hear it personally but whatever.

It was a simple life, a boring life, but hey, it could always be worse right? Ah… famous last words there Jason, but hey, I could see the high school from where I was so, hopefully I can get there in time before first bell. Knock on wood.

As I made it onto campus, I saw everyone funneling into the school, which was a sign I was running low on time here! I made a quick jog to the front door, slipping in through the doors. I just needed to reach my locker and get my stuff for first period and I'd be home free! After a bit of looking, I found my locker, entering it's combination I opened it, taking out a text book and notebook.

"Cutting it a little close today Jason?"

I turned to see a familiar red headed kid in a Green Lantern t-shirt and blue jean shorts, this was Zack, my partner in crime. "Lemme guess, Smaug ruined your dreams again?" he asked jokingly. I just rolled my eyes, "Dude maybe you should consider seeing a shrink or something?" He suggested.

I just shook my head, "It's just a stupid dream Zack," I pointed out, I wasn't exactly keen on the subjecting myself to therapy over a stupid imaginary dragon.

However, Zack was undeterred, "A stupid dream you've been having non stop for over a month? Dude your brain is obviously trying to tell you something," he said.

"Like what?" I asked, "Dragons aren't exactly common in rural Maine Zack," I pointed out, I know he was just trying to help, but I was kind of in a rush here and I **really** didn't feel like having a conversation about how screwed up my brain was.

Zack however, "I dunno man, maybe he represents something? Like some, deep seeded insecurity or something?" he suggested. We both entered the classroom, Zack and I both shared the same first period class, Biology, so I wasn't getting out of this "scintillating" conversation until class started, joy.

Zack and I both sat down next to each other, "Look dude, can we play therapist some other time? I kind of want to **stop** thinking about that stupid dragon if you don't mind," I said, hoping I could kill this moronic discussion before I would up losing my mind.

Zack just rolled his eyes, "Whatever man, it's **your** evil dream dragon," he said. I knew Zack probably had a point, something like this doesn't happen unless your brain is desperately trying to tell you something, but still, I **really** didn't want to think about it right now, just imagining that dragon sent a shiver down my spine.

"Why is that Jason? Do I frighten you?"

My eyes widened, I slowly looked up to see **him** , that dragon from my nightmares, he was just sitting there in front of my desk, no one seemed to notice him though, as if he were a ghost or something. "Or perhaps I simply remind you of something you're running from? A world you abandoned for **this** facade you bumble around in?" the dragon suggested, I just sat there, not sure if what I was seeing was really happening or not, "Maybe I represent your guilt? Buried deep within that little brain of yours," He said, poking my forehead with his giant claw, strangest thing is I actually **felt** his claw poke my head, "How long are you going to keep him locked away I wonder? Your true self?" The dragon said more to himself than me, I had no clue what this imaginary reptile was going on about. "Imaginary? Me? Are you certain? Or maybe I'm the realist thing in this room right now?" he said before backing up a bit, "I'll be seeing you again **real** soon "Jason"," He cackled, doing sarcastic finger quotes when saying my name for some reason.

"MISTER ALLEN!"

My head shot up as I heard the teacher's hand slam against the desk. "I understand Biology can be boring to some people, but I would appreciate it if you didn't sleep in my class!" the teacher scolded me. It appears I had somehow dozed off in class, which the rest of the class found hilarious judging by the amount of laughs I heard.

I had to say something, **anything** to save face here, "Uh… I'm sorry Mister Thomas, I didn't get very good sleep last night," I said, I don't even remember falling asleep though! I must have been more tired than I thought! But yet, that dream felt so real! I was kinda freaked out to be honest, something about that dream just didn't sit well with me, I couldn't really explain it.

Mister Thomas just gave me a stink eye, "Well then I suggest you fix your sleeping habits Jason, I catch you napping in my class again and I'll send you straight to the principal's office, are we clear?" He said.

I sighed, "Yes sir," I said. Satisfied, Mister Thomas turned around and went back to his lesson. I can't believe I fell asleep in class! I've **never** done that before! This dream dragon must have been messing me up a lot more than I thought!

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

 _ **Lunch Period…**_

* * *

Zack and I resumed our conversation about my nightly visitor, after I told him he showed up during my… uh… "nap", during biology class. "I'm starting to think this dragon of yours is some kind of dream demon or something," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Get real," I said, taking a sip from my milk box.

However Zack seemed convinced for some reason, "No I'm serious dude, maybe he's like Freddy Kruger? Some kind of messed up killer dream spirit or something?" he theorized. Did I fail to mention that Zack was a bit neurotic? I'll never forget the time we went to summer camp and he had to check **every** sink to make sure they were "safe".

I just shook my head, "That kind of thing doesn't happen in the real world Zack," I said, "Besides, if he was gonna kill me, he would have done it by now," I added. Despite Zack's theory being a **bit** far fetched, I had to admit, the dragon had this unsettling presence to him, like he really shouldn't exist. I mean, he **doesn't** , but he just felt like something that shouldn't **be**. But I wasn't going to tell Zack this, that would only make him go **more** insane with this crackpot theory of his.

But there was no basis in reality for "dream demons", that kind of stuff only happened in movies or story books. This was real life! That kind of this just doesn't happen in real life. "I'm just saying Jason," said Zack, "There might be more to this than just a recurring dream," he was trying so hard to sell me on the idea there was more to this dragon than a simple dream, but it just wasn't logical to think of it as anything else. "I dunno man, sometimes I like to think there's more to life than what we can see with our eyes ya know?" He then said.

I just sighed, "I prefer to deal in things I **can** see," I said, although, there was something to be said about the idea of there being more to life just beyond our reach, but until something from that side revealed itself to me, I reserved the right to be skeptical. Part of me honestly wanted to share Zack's wonderment with the unknown, but there was something there that kept me from doing so, something I couldn't quite explain. Like this mental wall I couldn't crack through for some reason.

 _ **RRRIIIIIINGG!**_

"That's the bell, I've gotta get going, Mister Everett gets **really** uptight about his students being late," Zack said, getting up to leave, "Good luck with the dream thing dude," he added before leaving.

With a sigh I dumped my tray and left the lunchroom, was there more to this dream thing than what was on the surface? It would explain why that dragon felt so… unnatural, but if it **was** more than just a dream, what did that mean for **me** exactly? Somehow… I don't think I want to know the answer to that question…

* * *

 _ **Later That Day…**_

* * *

The rest of the school day passed by without much incident, I hadn't managed to doze off the rest of the day, which meant no more visits from my little dream friend. I decided to forgo the bus again and just walk home, mainly because I wanted some time to think things over and a bus full of rowdy teenagers wasn't going to help that much. Besides, the weather was nice and I could certainly do with some fresh air.

Something about what Zack had said at lunch still bothered me for some reason, the whole thing about there being things out there we **can't** see. Something within me was screaming there was truth to it, but how or why I had no clue. It's not like I've ever encountered anything supernatural right? I think I'd remember something like that. Maybe it was just my mind trying to make the connection to the dream dragon? It was such a weird thing when you really broke it down, how ever single dream I've had for the past month has featured the same creature doing the same thing at the end without fail.

There was also the aura he gave off, I wasn't going to mince words, he **terrified** me. More so than anything else I've ever been afraid of in my life, but for the life of me I could never figure out **why**. There was just something **about** him, something that just frightened me to my core. Then there was the **last** one I had in biology class, the things he said, they made no sense to me, he seemed to be implying I was running away from something, what that could be I couldn't even begin to guess. I was a pretty simple guy, I had no real skeletons in my closet, nothing that would warrant something like **this**.

I didn't even know his name, just his face, that sinister look in his eyes, those freakish horns, those sickly dull purple scales, something about him just picked at some primal fear within me, that sense of fight or flight, a dream shouldn't have that kind of effect on someone, right? I mean… it wasn't **real** , that dragon wasn't something that existed in a physical sense, just a creation of my own psyche. But yet, it **touched** me, it **touched** me and I **felt it**. I didn't want to think Zack's suggestion was right and that he was some dream demon come to get me. Something in me told me there was more to it than that, like I **knew** this creature from somewhere. But that was also impossible, dragons weren't real, how could I have ever met one when they don't exist? It just didn't add up.

" _ **CAW! CAW!"**_

I stopped, the sounds of a crow's caw ripping me from my introspection, I saw the ebony bird perched on top of a street lamp. I could have sworn it was staring at me, as if observing me for some unknown reason. The bird then flew down, landing itself right in front of me, this was such odd behavior for a bird, they usually flew **away** from humans, didn't they? However the bird just sat there, right in front of me, still staring at me. It was almost as if it were waiting for me to do something, it would occasionally bob it's head in the direction of it's leg, like it wanted me to look at it.

It was then I noticed the bird had something tied to it's leg, a piece of paper from the looks of it. A note? Who uses birds to deliver notes in 2018?! Cautiously, I slowly reached for the note, the bird didn't attempt to fly away or peck me, it just sat there, watching me. The second I removed the note from it's leg it suddenly flew away so fast it even managed to startle me. I decided to unfurl the paper note, curious as to what, if anything, was written on it.

However, while there **was** indeed writing on it, it was in a strange, alien language I couldn't even hope to read. Weird, unknown symbols written out by what seemed to be an ink quill as opposed to pencil or a standard pen. Now that I think about it, the paper itself was odd too, the texture felt thicker than typical paper, almost like a scroll, it was also slightly yellowed, like something you'd see in a fantasy film.

This was beyond confusing, who would go through the trouble of training a crow to deliver a message in what had to be some made up language, hell this could be in **Klingon** for all I know! It was so strange and kind of random. But for whatever reason, I decided to pocket it. Maybe I'll show it to Zack tomorrow and he'll have a better idea about what it is than I do?

I resumed my walk home, it's funny, I chose to walk home in hopes I'd be able to figure out the questions I had about today's events, but now that this note suddenly came into my possession, I only had **more** questions. I should just focus on getting home, after all of today's weirdness I could use some simple downtime…

* * *

 **A/N: If you've read the original, you can probably recognize a few beats from this chapter, this is kind of the idea I'm going for with this remake, I'm attempting to expand on the story, change events but hit some of the same beats as the original. Basically using the original as a template instead of straight up remaking it like other writers would. I told you I never do things the normal way and I meant it!**

 **I'm hoping I can keep the story interesting to those who read the original, as well as those who never read the original.**


	3. A Note From a Friend

**Chapter 2: A Note From a Friend**

* * *

Three hours have passed since I came home and I wasn't any closer to figuring this note out, I couldn't read it, and my attempts to find translations obviously bared no fruit, the text didn't match any written language on earth, modern **or** ancient. Maybe it was code? But if it was, there was no base for me to translate it from, these symbols didn't have enough to them for me to even attempt to crack it. This was a hopeless endeavor, I simply could **not** read this note, which must suck for the guy who went through all the effort of sending his pet crow to deliver it to me. But that was assuming it was even **meant** for me, it might have been meant for someone else, that could explain the weird language, maybe it was a secret code shared between two friends?

Whatever the case, I wasn't going to translate the thing anytime soon, I don't even know why I wanted to translate it so badly, what could this note possibly have on it that would be of **any** importance to **me**? Maybe it was just pure curiosity? Who knows, but what I **do** know is that I'm totally wasting my time here, so… sorry random note writer guy, whatever it was you wanted to tell me or whoever you intended this note for was sadly going to fall upon deaf ears. That's what you get for making up your own language you weirdo.

I rolled my computer chair back, "I can't believe I wasted three hours on that stupid note," I said to myself. What time is it? I looked to the clock, my jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw it read eight thirty five, apparently a lot more than three hours were wasted on that note! Mom didn't get back from work until nine, she was always working late since dad passed three years back, she basically had to work for two, and Shaun was probably already in bed. I should probably go to bed myself, maybe if I went to bed early I'd actually get enough sleep so I wouldn't be a zombie at school tomorrow? One could only hope right?

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

 _ **Unknown Place, Unknown Realm…**_

* * *

My eyes slowly opened to a dead looking forest, trees barren of any leaves save for a few stragglers, their former leaves almost completely covered the ground in a sea of muted, dead browns. The sky was a thick gray cloud giving the forest an oppressive, unsettling presence. I could hear faint echos in the distance, voices too quiet to make out what they were saying but still managing to send a chill down my spine.

My body was different, I wasn't human anymore, I could tell just by the way I moved, I craned my head around to look at my body, only to be met with bright purple scales and yellow wings with orange membranes, unmistakably the body of a dragon. I suddenly felt myself compelled to move forward, one foot after another. The leaves on the ground crunched with each tepid footstep. There were no signs of life in any direction, not even the sounds of chirping birds could be heard in this desolate autumn wasteland. Just the faint whispers and the crunching leaves beneath my feet.

I walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, until I finally managed to find someone, another dragon but not the one I had been seeing in my dreams, this one was yellow in color, his spikes were a deep purple, which matched his curved horns, underbelly, and wings. Said wing's bones were shaped into a pattern that resembled a lightening bolt, the wing's membranes were a dull yellow, and had several holes peppered throughout. I could make out feint lightening bolt patterns on it's yellow scales.

This creature laid motionless, face turned away from me, "H… hello?" I greeted, I felt like I knew this creature from somewhere, but couldn't even hope to guess why. The dragon at first showed no signs of hearing me, remaining still as stone. However, it's head began to slowly turn in my direction, like that of a robot, stilted and unnatural. The creature's face showed no emotion, it's yellow eyes were vacant, withdrawn, as if undead.

The dragons stared at me for what felt like an eternity, until it finally decided to speak, "Why did you leave us Spyro? I thought you cared about us?" It asked in a dry monotone, his voice was light, a slight hint of an accent, "Why don't you want to come home?" he asked me, before his body began to crumble into dust.

I just stared in a mix of shock and horror, it's words were confusing, but they hurt for some reason, a ping of inexplicable guilt surged through my heart like a dagger. I willed myself to continue walking, this oppressive forest began to feel more hateful, it's colors more muted. I felt alone, afraid, small.

Another dragon came into view, this one was a pale, ice blue, white dots peppered it's body almost like snowflakes, it's wings were white with purple membrane, torn just like the last one's. It's underbelly shared the same purple hue, as did the odd fins that stuck to it's upper jaw. It's horns were sleek, straight and white, almost resembling icicles.

The creature didn't even wait for me to speak before turning it's head to me, the same vacant look as the last one, with empty blue eyes, "How long do you wish to make us suffer? All just to live a lie?" He said, his voice was monotone like the last one's, although he had a far more pronounced British accent. He spoke more words with no meaning to me, but yet they brought on the same guilty reaction as the last. "You know **he's** still alive Spyro, are you really willing to damn us all just to play make believe?" He added before crumbling away just as the last one.

Who was the **he** that dragon was referring to? Could it be the dream dragon? Something in me told me there was a connection, but I couldn't will myself to focus on that, as all my mind really wanted was to get out of here. The forest was slowly transforming, becoming darker, more haunting with each dragon I found.

I almost didn't want to keep going, but found myself unable to stop walking. I soon found the next dragon, the dragon was large, his body thick and muscular, the build of a fighter. His underbelly was a copper color, and almost looked as if it were chipped like a piece of stone. His scales were deep green color, as were his wings, though the membranes shared the underbelly's copper tone. His horns were thick, and curved inwards like those of a ram. His thick tail ended in a spiked ball, almost resembling the head of a mace.

The dragon shared the first two's vacant, empty expression and dull eyes, although his were a sage green. "You keep pretending not to know what's happening young dragon, but deep down, you know what you've done to those who you once called "friends"," He said, his voice was monotone like the rest, but there seemed to be a touch more anger in his, "You took the easy way out and you know it, ran away with your tail tucked between your legs, I expected better from you Spyro," He said before he too crumbled before my eyes.

His words hurt just as much as the last ones did, but I still didn't know why, I had no idea what any of these beasts were talking about, I wasn't running from anything! I had my feet pretty firmly on the ground, I didn't run from anything!

"Keep telling yourself that young dragon,"

I was startled by the voice, I slowly turned to see another dragon behind me, turned away from me. He was a bright, fiery red, maroon spots shaped vaguely like little flames dotted his body, his spikes, tailblade, and wing bones shared the same maroon color, his wing membranes shared his underbelly and horn's golden color. "It won't change the fact that you abandoned us all for a life that isn't even yours," He said, his voice sounded aged, wise, but strangely soothing, like that of a kindly old man.

The dragon turned his head slightly, however he didn't share the same vacant expression as the others, his bright golden eyes had a fury behind them, "You thought you could just repair the world and flee without even so much as a goodbye? That you could reject your destiny? Take the coward's way out?" He said, his voice seething with hatred.

I didn't know what it was about this dragon in particular, but his words were cutting through me harder than the others, I felt hurt, betrayed even, despite the fact I had never seen this dragon before. It was as if my own father was saying these harsh words. "You're a coward Spyro, you deny your true self because you are afraid of what you **really** are," He continued to scold me. "I did not sacrifice myself so that you could turn your back on the world!" He then said before he began to turn his body to face me, revealing the other side of his face.

Or rather, what was **left** of it, the entire left side of his face was horrifically burned, chunks of flesh were either horrendously misshapen, or outright missing, it was almost enough to make me gag. "How could you Spyro? You were like a son to me! But you turned your back on me just like every other "friend" you ever had in this world!" He snarled, I felt tears begin to form in my eyes, something about hearing this from **him** specifically really hurt me for some reason, I couldn't explain it. However, the dragon was only disgusted more by my tears, "Don't waste your crocodile tears on me young dragon! You know full well what you did, and sooner or later… you're going to have to confront it," He said before bursting into flames, however he didn't lose his hateful expression for a single second as his body was charred and eventually reduced to ash.

In his place was another dragon, however this one was far smaller, the same size as I currently was, however this dragon was far more slender, sleek, it's scales were black as the shadows, an odd pattern printed upon it's forehead, it's horns were smooth, curling upwards, it's underbelly and wing membrane were a deep rose color, it's tail blade looked metallic, sharp like a knife had been glued to it's tail. It stared at me with angry emerald eyes.

I tried to back away, but soon found the myself surrounded by inky black shadows, "You abandoned me!" The dragon yelled, her voice wavering slightly, but still dripping with venom. "I thought you cared about me? What was I to you? A lost puppy in need of rescuing? You're little pet project? Did you ever even really care about me?" She asked me, she didn't even wait for me to answer, "You knew the world still blamed me for what I had done as **his** general, but you left me to their mercy anyway! Ran away like a coward! How could you abandon me Spyro? How could you abandon **us**?!" She asked.

Suddenly all of the previous dragons reappeared, all of them with anger in their eyes as they drew in closer, all repeating in unison, "Why did you leave us Spyro?" over and over and over again. Each time the question repeated I felt myself losing more and more of my sanity. I just wanted them to stop! Someone make them stop! I didn't abandon anyone! I didn't! I don't know any of you! Leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALONE!

* * *

 _ **Reality…**_

* * *

I woke up screaming, face wet with tears, lungs breathing heavily. Part of me was glad that was all just a nightmare, but I could still hear their voices in my head, I could still see their angry faces. I wanted to tell myself it was just an empty dream that meant nothing, but something deep within refused to accept that. I looked at my clock, it read three o' five in the morning. Three hours until I had to get up for school the next day. I flopped myself back into my bed, unwilling to even attempt to go back to sleep in fear that I would just end up back in that hellish forest again.

I almost didn't even consider that I had finally broken the streak of that dragon popping up uninvited into my dreams, but it almost didn't matter, as what **was** there was for whatever reason, so much worse. I don't even know **why** this nightmare bothered me as much as it did, but I felt like my entire family just gathered together to call me an asshole.

At this point, I might as well just stay up, no way was I going to risk trying to sleep after **that** nightmare! I got up out of my bed and walked over to my desk, the mystery note still sat upon it's surface, however… something strange happened…

My head started to pound, it felt like someone driving a pike through my skull! I clasped my head as I stumbled into my computer chair, flashes of strange images flickered through my head so fast I couldn't hope to make them out.

Once the images finally stopped, the headache vanished along with them. What the hell **was** that?! I rolled the chair over to the desk, rubbing my temples trying to convince myself I wasn't going insane. However, I chanced a glance at the note again… and noticed something...

I could read it now…

I don't know how or why, but for whatever reason, I could decipher these strange symbols, even stranger, now that I could read it, I realized that, while the lettering may be foreign, it was still inexplicably written in English. I snatched the note from it's place, and began to read it.

" _Spyro,_

 _If you are able to read this letter, it means you are beginning to regain what you once were, I had hoped seeing the ancient draconic script would trigger something and since you are reading this, then it has worked._

 _It is time you learned the truth of your existence young one, whenever you are ready, come to the woods just outside of your house, come alone, there I will reveal everything you wish to know._

 _I will be waiting, it has been too long since we have seen one another, and I look forward to seeing you again my old friend._

 _Sincerely, Ignitus._ "

Spyro… that name… the dragons in my dream called me that too, it was almost insane to think that this note could have any connection to a dream I **just** had. That just wasn't possible! But there it was, plain as day. Also just like the dreams, it seemed to insist there was something I was hiding from myself, that there was some deep, hidden truth to my life I either didn't know, or didn't **want** myself to know.

I quickly opened one of my desk's drawers, getting out a piece of paper, and began to copy the note, translating it into plain English. I needed a second opinion on this, and there was no way Zack was going to be able to read the note in it's original form. This whole thing was ridiculous, almost insane even. I felt like I was messing with something I really shouldn't be, but was powerless to leave it alone.

Speaking of, I really didn't know if I wanted to take this Ignitus guy up on his offer to meet him in the woods, everything about that set up screamed stranger danger. But the guy went through all the trouble of sending his crow to me to get me this note, whatever it was he had for me **had** to have some importance right?

Once I was done copying the note, I folded it up and got up from the chair, part of me wanted to forget the whole thing and just go on with my life, but every time I even considered doing so, those dragon's words would repeat in my head. "coward", "running away", I couldn't leave this alone, if anything to at least prevent another nightmare like **that** from assaulting my senses again.

Maybe this would all be nothing? Maybe I just read what I wanted to read from it? Who knows.. Part of me hoped it was nothing, my life wasn't exactly perfect, but I was happy with where I was, thing **could** be better sure, but I loved my family, my friends, I didn't want any of that to change, and from the wording from that note, whatever awaited me in that forest seemed poised to do just that.

Or maybe… just maybe… another chapter in my life was about to begin, all I needed to do was muster the courage to turn the page…

* * *

 **A/N: I just want to point out, I am far more proud of that nightmare sequence than I have any right to be. Nothing like a big ol' guilt fueled nightmare sequence to really flex those writing muscles huh?**

 **I know these chapters have been pretty short thus far, but I'm hoping once the story really gets going, they'll get longer.**


	4. I am Who I am

**Chapter 3: I am Who I am**

* * *

 _ **Sanford High School, Morning…**_

* * *

I felt like the walking dead, not getting enough sleep that night had done me no favors, but I had so much running through my mind right now sleeping was laughable at best. I had however, actually managed to catch the bus this morning, so I didn't have to worry about being late or anything so that was a plus. That had to count for something… right?

First period, I took my usual spot next to Zack, who instantly noticed my… erm… "unkempt" look. "Yikes, I think this nightmare thing is getting a bit out of hand dude, you look like the walking dead," he commented, thanks for the confidence boost Zachary, I really needed that right now.

I looked over my shoulder, as if checking to see if no one was listening, before fishing the note along with the copy I made out of my pockets, "Yesterday, while I was walking home from school, I got this note," I said, passing the note to him.

Zack picked it up, looked it over, raising an eyebrow, "What is this? Klingon?" he asked. I didn't expect him to be able to read it, I just wanted to show it to him to give him proper context.

"Yeah I couldn't read it either at first," I began, knowing full well how crazy I was about to sound, "But last night, after having one **hell** of a nightmare, I got this… splitting headache, then suddenly… I could read the note… it was surreal… I translated it on this," I said, handing him the translation.

Zack cautiously took it, reading it over, he looked bewildered, "Spyro? Is that even a real name?" he questioned, oh sure Zack, let's focus on the **real** problem here! He handed the note back to me, "So… you just… suddenly figured out how to read this note out of nowhere?" he asked me.

It sounded so stupid when said out loud didn't it? But you know what they say, reality is stranger than fiction. "Yeah… stranger still, "Spyro" is what the dragons in my dream kept calling me, I know this sounds insane… but I think they might be connected," I said, how nuts **must** I sound to Zack right now? If I were him, I'd probably be calling for the men in white suits to haul me to the funny farm about now.

But Zack just seemed to puzzle over it for a moment, "I don't know man, maybe you just saw what you wanted to see in it man, those symbols could mean anything," he pointed out, thanks Zack, I'm so glad you're here to confirm I've lost my marbles, much appreciated. There was a good chance he was right of course, a **very** good chance. But something in me felt like there was something here, something I needed to figure out.

"Alright class," said the teacher as he came into the room, "Get out your notebooks, we're going to be going over a **lot** of material today," he added. I did as I was asked, getting my notebook out and placing it on the desk.

However, as went to open it, who should show up, but my old friend, mister dream dragon, come to torment me yet again, "It's funny," He began, "I expected you to jump at the chance to meet with Ignitus, after what happened the **last** time you two saw each other," he said with a slight laugh.

I was so not in the mood for this today, I don't know how I nodded off again, but after last night, I was **done** with this dragon nonsense, "Oh are you now? Is **that** why you felt compelled to share Ignitus' note with your little human friend?" he asked me.

I just glared at him, "Who **are** you?" I asked, I needed to know, after last night, with the nightmare, and the strange note, I had to know if he was connected in any way.

The dragon laughed, "I'm a lot of things boy, I'm your inner guilt made flesh, your greatest fear, and the thing you left unfinished," he said, not answering my question at all. "You know full well who I am boy, deep within that feeble little mind of yours… you remember who I am," he cackled. He then suddenly lost his shape, forming into what could only be described as a black mist with eyes, "Or maybe **he** was just the form you gave to your own guilt? You know you can't run away from your past Spyro," the mist said, however now it was speaking with **my** voice, which was **really** unsettling by the way. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to face the world you abandoned," It said before vanishing.

Suddenly I woke up again, the teacher hadn't noticed this time however, as he just kept going on with his lesson, Zack was right, these dreams **were** getting out of hand! I did my best to try to follow along with the lesson, if anything to hide the fact I had just fallen asleep in class **again**. However soon the bell rang, mercifully ending first period.

"Okay class, remember to read chapters six through twelve in your text books by tomorrow," he said as we all left the classroom. I felt a bit out of sorts to put it nicely, I felt like I was losing my mind here! I began to wonder if maybe I should just bite the bullet and visit that Ignitus guy? I dunno, but right now, I just wanted to focus on surviving the day.

I left the classroom intending on heading for next period. But soon my head began to spin, I could faintly hear voices whispering, my legs began to feel limp and shaky, I started to stumble around the hallway, slamming into lockers like a drunk college kid after an all night bender. My head began to throb as the voices got louder, almost yelling at this point. You can probably guess what they were saying if you've been paying attention lately.

" _Why do you keep running?"_

" _Don't you care about us?"_

" _You're a coward Spyro!"_

Standing became very difficult, almost impossible, the searing pain in my head just would not let up, flashes of images began to assault my senses, like someone flipping through a Power Point presentation. I fell to the floor with a thud, what was happening to me?! God… those voices… they were driving me insane! Make them stop!

"Jason?! JASON!"

I felt myself being shaken, I weakly opened my eyes to see a crowd of students gathered around me as a teacher tried to snap me out of whatever it was that was happening to me. The voices soon began to fade, the headache along with it. "Are you alright Jason?" the teacher asked me, helping me to my feet.

I nodded, the worst of it was over now at least, "Come on, let's get you to the nurse's office," the teacher said as he began to lead me to said nurse's office. I felt like I was losing my grip on reality, every time I thought the worst was over something even **more** insane seemed to happen. Was I going insane? Is **that** what was happening here? Maybe I **was** , it would explain a lot. Maybe my going nowhere life finally got to me and now I was slowly descending into madness? Wouldn't be long before I was in a padded cell screaming about how the dragons were coming to get me.

We reached the nurse's office, I was laid upon the small cot in the room as the nurse began to check me over. The Teacher was explaining to the nurse what happened as she did this, giving me an idea of what my little episode looked like from an outsider's perspective. Apparently I had been swaying drunkenly down the halls like I thought I was, however what he described next kind of made me worry.

"He then began mumbling something about "dragons" I think before he suddenly collapsed. I think he might have had some kind of seizure or something," he explained. "Strangest thing, just before he collapsed, I could have sworn his eyes turned **blue** for a second," he added. It could probably just be written off as him seeing things, and under normal circumstances, I probably **would** have. But given everything that was happening to me lately, with all these voices suggesting I was living some kind of lie, my eyes suddenly turning blue like the rest of my family's kind of made a pit in my stomach.

I had always wondered why my eyes were purple, was it some kind of sign? I didn't even want to consider it! But yet I couldn't ignore it either, maybe I **was** living a lie like these dreams kept saying I was? But if that were the case, what **was** I really? No… no that can't be it, I'm just reading way too much into this, overthinking it. I'm fine, maybe the teacher is right, maybe I just had some kind of seizure? One could question finding comfort in something so serious as seizures, but compared to where my mind was currently going it was almost welcomed, a nice mundane problem as opposed to questions about my own existence.

The nurse turned to the teacher, "Call his mother, have her pick him up, if it **is** seizures he really shouldn't be in school," she told him. Maybe this was a good thing, a nice day in bed would probably do me some good, allow me to collect myself? I don't know, but a big part of me was hoping this was all nothing and I was just way overthinking it.

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

It didn't take long for mom to come pick me up, I guess the second she hear the word "seizure", she flew out of the news station like a bat out of hell. Ever since dad died in that car accident she had been pretty overprotective of me and Shaun. The drive home was a bit uncomfortable to say the least, I was terrified that another one of my little episodes would trigger at any moment. To say I was having a bad day would be an insult to anyone who knows words. "Jason hon, are you alright? You look horrible," mom asked.

I honestly didn't even know if I was alright at this point, everything about what was happening to me today was decidedly **not** okay, "God mom, I feel like I'm losing my mind, every time I think I have control, some weird episode happens," I said, that probably only made her **more** worried in fairness, but I wasn't going to lie to her about it either.

Mom sighed, "Maybe it's some leftover symptom from the accident?" she suggested. I almost did a double take at this, what accident?

"What are you talking about? What accident?" I asked, oh no… I'm not having another episode am I? I swear to god if she turns to me with bleeding eye sockets and speaking in tongues I'm leaping out of the goddamn window!

Mom seemed oddly confused by my question, " **The** accident Jason, how could you forget? You were in the car when your dad crashed, don't you remember?" She said. No… no I really wasn't, I remember having to be told about the crash! What the hell was going on?! Does **everything** today have to be pure liquid crazy?! Mom didn't even wait for an answer, pressing the back of her hand over my forehead, "Jason… honey you're burning up!" She commented.

You know what? I don't even care anyone, sure I have a fever too, why not? Let's make this as stupidly horrible as possible why don't we?! We soon pulled up to our house, "I want you to go straight to your room, you understand? I'm going to call the doctor and schedule an appointment," she said, going into full protective mother mode.

Honestly, crashing on my bed for the rest of the day sounded divine. After the day I've had I'd rather veg out, at least I could slowly go insane in the comfort of my own bed. I slowly marched up to my bedroom, and collapsed onto my bed, I didn't even care if I got assaulted by nightmares at this point, I just wanted to stew in my own misery and madness, and pray to god and every other deity in existence that I can eventually come over all of this.

"You know this isn't just your body being sick Spyro,"

Oh for the love of, go away evil mist thing, I'm not in the mood. "You know there's only **one** way you can end this Spyro," it said, I swear if you say to cleanse everything with fire I'm **done**. "You know what you have to do Spyro, you have to let **me** out," the mist said.

I slowly turned my head, but instead of the mist, it was another dragon, small like the black one, but this one was a bright, almost vibrant purple, it's underbelly a golden color, which matched it's horns, wings, and the tips of it's otherwise orange head fins. The dragon shared my purple eyes, "You can't keep avoiding him, eventually, you're going to have to confront Ignitus, you know it, **I** know it," He said, still using my voice by the way.

I've had enough of this nonsense, I quickly grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him as I cursed at him, the pillow just phased right through the purple lizard as if he were a ghost. I honestly don't know why I expected a different result, he wasn't real. "Are you sure **I'm** the one who isn't real? "Jason"?" He said, doing finger quotes when speaking my name. "If I'm so fake, then why are you so afraid to go see Ignitus? You know he just wants to help you, but yet you keep avoiding him, what are you afraid of? The truth?" He asked me.

For god sake, just leave me alone man! I just want to rest, why can't you just let me rest? "Because you're avoiding the truth! These aren't just dreams Spyro and you know it! How long are you going to stay in denial? What are you so afraid of?!" He roared at me.

I shot up out of my bed, "You know what?! Fine! I'll go see Ignitus! Will that make you happy you messed up hallucination?! Will that finally get you to leave me the hell alone?!" I snapped, the imaginary dragon actually seemed satisfied by my outburst, "Yes, it would," he said before vanishing.

Maybe heading out into the forest would finally snap me out of this madness? Finding nothing and confirming I was just losing my mind, god I just wanted all of this to stop! But I had a problem, no way was mom going to let me go out in the woods in the state I was in. I looked to my bedroom window, I was on the second floor, a good twenty foot drop from the window wouldn't exactly be beneficial to my already deteriorating health. Thankfully, there was a bit of an awning just below the window, with some careful climbing, I could feasibly drop down safely from that.

With a defeated sigh, I opened my bedroom window, and began to slowly climb out, I can't believe I'm doing this! Listening to sickness induced hallucinations was **never** a good idea, but I figured, a quick trip to the forest would be enough to break me from this stupid… whatever the hell this was! A nice, quick snap back to reality.

I dropped down to the backyard, falling right on my ass as I landed. Yeah that hurt, but at least nothing was broken. I got up, and began to head for the woods out back, god I hope mom didn't see me, I don't think I could ever hope to explain this without sounding like a lunatic. There was a little walking path that lead out to the forest from our backyard, I would just walk about for a few minutes, and when Ignitus was a no show it would be all the confirmation I needed that all this dragon nonsense was just in my head.

The forest was quiet, almost serene, it actually gave me some much needed peace, a nice walk through the woods to clear my head, I guess I had the excuse I'd use if mom caught me. Predictably, I found no sign of anyone, no Ignitus, not even so much as a chipmunk. I sat myself on a rock, "Yeah, I'm just losing my mind, there's nothing here," I said to myself, rubbing my temples.

"Oh I wouldn't say that,"

I cried out in surprise, falling off the rock like a total klutz. I heard a small laughter, "I'm sorry young one, did I startle you?" he asked me, my blood began to run cold as I recognized the voice, it was the red dragon's, from the nightmare last night. Oh god I **was** losing my mind! Suddenly a paw was offered to me, but it wasn't red, it was more of a pale teal color, glowing an almost ethereal glow, "Need a hand?" the dragon asked.

You know what? Why not? I'm already going insane, might as well embrace the insanity! I took the hand, surprised when I discovered it had an actual physical presence, I had expected my hand to pass right through, but the teal scaled paw wrapped itself around my hand and I was pulled back to my feet.

However, this also allowed me to get a good look at the dragon that had chosen to help me up, it was clearly the same red dragon from the dream, his features were practically unchanged save for the blue color scheme he for some reason had now. He was also now wearing some kind of weird robe thing, navy blue with golden trim, held in place by a chain around the neck with a strange glowing crystal hanging from it like a pendant. The dragon wore a warm, friendly expression on his face, which lacked the horrible burns his dream counterpart had. "I was beginning to worry you would never come," The dragon said.

Wait, was **this** Ignitus? It couldn't be… if it was, that meant… oh god, "This… this can't be real… it's gotta be another dream, or hallucination… or… or something..." I began to stammer, no way was any of this real! It couldn't be!

However, the dragon sighed, "I assure you Spyro, I'm quite real," he said, "You look awful, I assume these last few days have been quite troubling for you, haven't they?" he asked, I wanted to write him off as another weird vision, but something about the way he was carrying himself, it was so unlike the other visions, he felt real.

I sighed, sitting myself down on the soft grass, "I feel like I'm losing my mind!" I said, "All these messed up dreams, the voices, the headaches, I don't even know what's real and what isn't anymore!" I explained, I don't know why I'm telling him all of this, I guess I just wanted **someone** to talk to about this.

I felt his paw on my shoulder, "It's alright Spyro, you're not losing your mind, you're simply… awakening to your true self, such an experience can sometimes be quite traumatic, I wish there could have been another way to preserve your spirit than this, but it was the only way," He said.

Preserve my **what** now? "What are you talking about? Why does everyone keep calling me Spyro?! That's not my name! I'm Jason!" I asked, the dragon seemed confused at first, but realized I was serious very quickly.

With a deep breath, he began to explain, "Spyro, Jason Allen died with his father three years ago," he said, my blood instantly ran cold, "These "dreams" of yours are the illusion we crafted for you breaking down, this life you're living, it isn't real," He continued.

I slowly stood up, no… no he was wrong! "No! I… I wasn't even **in** the car when dad crashed! I… I remember my life! I… I remember falling off my trike when I was five and scraping my knee, m… my life **isn't** fake!" I protested.

The dragon just shook his head, "Spyro listen to me! You aren't Jason Allen! Jason Allen **died** , he's been dead for three years! We needed a body to put you in while your real one was repaired, and… his was available," he explained.

I fell to my knees again, it couldn't be true! It just couldn't! I know who I am! "You're lying to me!" I snarled, I couldn't accept this! My life isn't a lie! I know who I am!

However, Ignitus was starting to grow impatient, "That's enough!" He roared, his voice echoed through the forest, "I understand this is hard for you, I never wanted to hurt you! But I had no choice! The Ancestors feared you would be needed again, so they tasked me with constructing a fake life for you in the Human Realms, I had to do so much bending of this world's time stream, it was inevitable it would begin to unravel," he said.

He then began to approach me again, "Spyro, please… I never meant to put you through all of this, I can't even begin to imagine the pain you're going through right now, but you **must** face reality!" He said.

I got up, I just wanted to get as far away from him as I could, I can't accept this! I **won't**! My life isn't fake! "Just leave me alone!" I snapped before turning and walking away, Ignitus called out to me with that fake name he insisted on trying to force on me, but I wasn't having it! I was **done** with this madness!

However, "Does the name Cynder mean anything to you," he suddenly said, for some reason, despite not recognizing the name, it still made me stop, something about it triggered something deep within me, something I felt was important but couldn't hope to guess at. Ignitus began to approach, "You see? Despite not remembering her, the very mention of her name caused you to hesitate, because deep down… you **never** forgot her," he explained.

He… he had me… goddammit he **had** me! Why? Why can't he just be wrong?! It was so simple for him to be wrong but yet he **wasn't**! I chanced a look at Ignitus' face, it wasn't one of triumph, but sympathy, I could tell just from his face he absolutely **hated** doing this to me, but had no choice, "I'm so sorry Spyro… it pains me to no end to see you hurt like this, but I can't afford to maintain this alteration any longer, if I keep this illusion going much longer I risk this world's reality collapsing in on itself, I know you've grown to care for these people, would you really wish to damn their entire reality to oblivion?" he asked me.

I hadn't even thought of that, if what Ignitus was saying was true, how much damage was I doing to this world just by staying here? "Wh… what am I?" I asked timidly, not entirely sure I wanted the answer, I was afraid, more afraid than I've ever been in my life, my entire world was collapsing in on itself like a sandcastle being washed away by the uncaring tides.

Ignitus, let a tiny smile creep up his lip, "Isn't it obvious? You're a dragon," he said, "But not just any dragon, the **purple** dragon, a very special creature indeed, able to use all of the known dragon elements," he explained.

Suddenly the words of the dream dragons made more sense, I **was** running from something and I didn't even know it, my true self, that little purple dragon that coaxed me into coming here, that was **me** , or… what I used to be. "What happened to me? Why even do all of this?" I asked, I was still trying to hold onto the tiny shred of hope this wasn't real, but something deep within me was telling me this was the truth, the painful, harsh truth.

Ignitus strangely averted his eyes for a second, as if debating something, but whatever it was he quickly pushed it away, "You perished while trying to repair the realms after your battle with Malefor, your body couldn't withstand the power required to fix the realms, but your spirit remained, I placed it in this realm so I could work on repairing your old body," he explained.

"Jason?"

Ignitus and I suddenly turned, who else but Zack emerged from the brush, his face was one of shock upon seeing the dragon before me, finally confirming I wasn't imagining Ignitus, "What's going on? I… is that dragon real?" He asked me.

Ignitus didn't give me the chance to answer, "Funny, I remember explicitly telling you to come **alone** ," he said rather playfully before turning to Zack, "Perhaps it is good you are here Zachary, Spyro deserves to at least say goodbye to his closest friend before he returns home," He said.

This made Zack even more confused, "Jason, what's he talking about?" he asked me. Part of me really didn't want to tell him, he was my **best** friend, but I knew I had to, one look at Ignitus told me he wanted **me** to be the one to tell him.

So, with a deep breath, I did so, "My whole life was a lie, apparently… I'm a dragon according to Ignitus here," I said, it sounded **really** stupid out of context didn't it? But you know what they say right? Truth is stranger than fiction. "The real Jason Allen died in the same car crash that killed his dad, Spyro turns out to be my real name," I continued.

Zack's eyes began to water, "Oh my god…" he said, slightly choking on his words, it killed me seeing him like this, despite being a part of an apparent lie, I still cared about him, he was my best friend, "So… what happens now?" he asked me.

Ignitus decided to take over for me, "He returns to his life in the Dragon Realms, it will be as if he were never here, I'm… sorry… but you won't remember any of the past three years of your life, it is necessary, for balance must be maintained," he said. "However, I want to thank you for being his friend, Spyro needed someone to help harsh the storm with him, keep his feet firmly planted on the ground, for that, you will forever have my gratitude young human," He said.

This was horrible, I never expected Zack to follow me out here, but at least I got to say goodbye to someone. "If it's any consolation, I won't forget you, you'll always be my best friend," I said. Zack's eyes watered before he suddenly hugged me, this was all hitting him pretty hard, it was hitting **me** pretty hard too. I didn't want to go, I **really** didn't, but it was very clear I had no choice in the matter.

Zack let me go, "I would say I'll miss you, but Ignitus said I won't remember any of this so…" He said half jokingly, "Just… whatever is waiting for you in that… dragon world he wants to take you to, you'll get through it man, I'll be pulling for you, even if I don't remember any of it," He said.

Ignitus then suddenly opened a portal, "Come along now Spyro, it is time," he said, I turned to Zack, who, with tears running down his cheeks, gave me a nod, telling me without words he was going to be okay. It was so like him, not wanting me to leave this world with regrets. I then turned to the portal, reluctant as hell to step through, but I knew I had no choice in the matter, this chapter of my life was officially over now…

A new one was about to begin…

* * *

 **A/N; And there you have it, one of the biggest regrets I had with the original version of this story was how rushed the "Jason" portion of the story was, and how abruptly I ended it, here I wanted to try to make it more emotional, giving Jason a friend to interact with in the Human Realms helped a lot with that.**

 **But now it's time for the Spyro half, the half you've all probably been waiting for, but things may not play out how you remember, fair warning.**


	5. Alone in the Cold

**Chapter 4: Alone in the Cold**

* * *

 _ **Chronicler's Library, Evening…**_

* * *

There were many words I could use to describe how I was feeling right now, empty, depressed, alone, part of me just wanted to go back and be Jason Allen, but I knew that was impossible now, Jason Allen was dead, I still took his form but I wasn't **him** anymore. It was a strange sensation, knowing the body you lived in wasn't really yours, it was like I was **wearing** Jason like a suit, it was unsettling almost.

Ignitus lead me down these dark, torch lit halls of what he referred to as his "library", there were tons of books strewn throughout the place, some haphazardly strew throughout the floor, while others sat neatly on their shelves. There was an odd aura to this place that I couldn't quite put my finger on, this pervasive sense of oddness that I just couldn't shake.

Soon he took me to a large room, a giant hourglass stood at it's center, however there was also someone else here, I recognized the figure instantly, the little purple dragon from my dream, he just laid there, as if asleep, "I'm guessing that's… me," I said, pointing at the sleeping dragon.

Ignitus nodded, "Indeed it is, the **real** you, it was a trying effort, but I think The Ancestors captured your likeness quite well," he said with a slight chuckle, trying in vain to lift my spirits even a little, but I was so rocked by this whole thing his efforts were rendered meaningless.

I knelt down in front of my old body, without even thinking, I began to reach out to it, the second my finger touched it's scales my perspective immediately changed, in a flash I was no inhabiting my dragon body, my human one stood still as stone for a few seconds, before crumbling into dust, just as the dream dragons had. Any chance I had of returning to life as Jason were now officially dead, literally crumbled to dust before my very eyes.

Everything about this new body felt wrong, every motion, every function felt uncomfortable, stilted, "How do you feel?" Ignitus asked me.

I sighed, "I feel like I've just lost everything I ever knew and loved," I said, I knew that wasn't what he was asking for, but it was the only thing I could think of aside from how unnatural this body felt. I figured I'd adjust to it eventually, but the pain of losing everyone in my human life wouldn't. It only dawned on me now just how suddenly I was ripped from it, I mean, I got to say goodbye to Zack at least, but what about my mother? Shaun? My other friends? All of them were just… gone… dust in the wind, and I'd never see them again.

Ignitus grew a sympathetic expression, "I'm sorry Spyro, but time heals all wounds, and you have plenty of friends awaiting you back home, I think they've waited long enough for their beloved purple dragon to return," He said, I know he was trying his hardest to comfort me, and I appreciated it, but I just felt so alone now, I knew nothing about my life in this… other world, the friends I had there might as well be strangers.

Ignitus opened a portal for me, "I must warn you now though, some of your old friends may not react well to your return, everyone has though you dead these past three years, so be prepared" He warned me, "However, if you ever find yourself overwhelmed, if you ever need my guidance, just call my name, and I shall come, you are never alone Spyro, someone will **always** be there for you," he added, this offered me a little comfort, knowing I had at least **one** person to fall back on in case things went south.

I reluctantly entered through the portal, "May the Ancestors look after you, may they look after us all," I heard Ignitus say as I stepped through, some kind of dragon world blessing I guessed. However soon I found myself alone in a dark, snow covered forest, the air was bitter and cold, the snow deep, there was little to no light at all, just the uncertain darkness laid before me.

I cautiously began to take a few steps, the snow crunching softly underfoot, walking at all in this new body was difficult enough, having to do it through several inches of snow was **not** helping matters. But what else could I do? If I stayed out here I'd probably end up freezing to death, Ignitus couldn't at least give me a parka? Do dragons wear parkas? Whatever, it's freezing out here, being a Mainer, cold wasn't an unfamiliar sensation, but being butt naked, with only dragon scales between me and the harsh winter weather, it was almost unbearable.

The harsh wind didn't help any, every gust send a strong chill though my body, you'd think Ignitus would spawn me a little closer to civilization! Hell, **was** there civilization in this world? Dragons could live in caves in the forest for all I knew! God, I hope that's not the case, the idea of living in a cave in **this** weather sounded a lot like hell to me. I just kept walking, hoping to god I'd find something, **anything** out here.

I felt so alone, so afraid, the threat of dying from the cold hung over me like the blade of a guillotine, threatening to cut off my head at any moment, I just wanted someone to help me, some kind of friendly face to tell me I was going to be okay. However salvation came at last when I happened upon some kind of wall, it was made from stone, like a fort, I began to walk along the length of the wall, hoping to find some kind of door or gate I could enter.

Sure enough, I found one, however it was being guarded by two dragons in heavy silver armor, one was blue, the other red. Their other features were difficult to make out from underneath their heavy armor, but the optimist in me took this as a good sign, they were **people** , fellow dragons, they might be able to help me out here!

I briskly approached the two guards, however my foolish optimism faded when the two looked at me in pure disgust, causing me to freeze in my tracks, "Of all the- you have some **nerve** painting yourself in Spyro's colors! Is this your idea of a joke child?" the blue dragon spat. Paint? Well I guess it was fair to expect them to think my being purple wasn't legit, I mean, for all tense and purposes, I **died** before returning here, and somehow I don't think " _vacationing as a human in human land_ " would fly as an excuse here.

The red dragon snorted, smoke bellowing from his nostrils, "Children these days, they have **no** respect for our heroes!" he said before suddenly opening the gate, "In with you now, you'll catch your death out here!" he said, well at least they were still letting me in. "And _do_ wash that paint off boy! It's very disrespectful!" He was sure to add as I walked through the doorway.

I was soon met with the sight of a gorgeous city, it's streets illuminated brilliantly by torches and strange glowing crystals, it looked like something ripped right out of Final Fantasy, this gorgeous sword and sorcery metropolis that sprawled before me. I was in awe, I had never expected this world to be so… beautiful, and I **lived** here! Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all? I mean, this made Sanford look like a small hick town by comparison!

But once I got over the sheer majesty of this yet to be named city, I realized I had no idea where to even start, I tried focusing my mind, to see if I could somehow pluck any memories of this place, but unfortunately came up empty. All I really had to go on where the dreams I had, specifically the dragons from them, I mean, the red one turned out to be Ignitus, so it was fair to assume the others were real too right? Almost as if the dream was trying to prepare me for this little adventure. All I had to do was find at least one person from that dream and I'd be golden, right?

But there were so many people here, not all of them were dragons mind you, some where weird looking cat people, others pudgy little moles, strangely there were no humans here, I guess they simply didn't exist in this world? But the point still stood, finding **anyone** in this city would be a trying effort.

I did notice some people giving me funny looks, I guess they too assumed I was some jerk painted purple, was that a **thing** in this world? People painting themselves up to look like me? I don't really think I want to know quite frankly.

However, it didn't take long for the cold to start getting to me again, the torches that peppered the city offered very little warmth. Wait… I'm a dragon, maybe I can breathe fire? I decided to try it, making sure I was a good distance from any buildings or people before attempting it. I took a deep breath, and blew, but nothing came forth but air, I tried several times but never got anything save for the occasional bit of spittle to come out. Dammit, it was worth a shot at least, I mean, Ignitus had said I could use all four elements, basically like Aang from Avatar The Last Airbender, at least, that was what I was _assuming_ it was like. Just as a quick test I attempted some "fire bending" punches, god I'm **such** a nerd. Unsurprisingly that didn't work either, all I managed to accomplish with _that_ was make myself look like an idiot in front of the passing townsfolk.

Maybe I had to unlock it or something? Like, "find my inner fire" or something to that effect? Which helped me none because I kinda needed that fire **now** before hypothermia sets in! I began to shiver again, maybe if I walked for a bit I'd find a group of hobos huddled around a burning oil drum or something?

"Hey!"

I stopped, I heard the sounds of clanking armor grow closer, telling me I had caught the attention of a wandering guard, I turned to see the guard was a green dragon this time, but he still wore the same armor as his friends in front of the city gate, "Are you alright lad? You're shivering quite a bit there, you might want to head home before you come down with something," he suggested.

Was it that obvious? Man, what do I tell him? That I just came back from another world and have no place to stay? He'd probably think I was crazy and lock me up in ye olde mental ward! "I… uh… I kinda don't **have** a home sir," I said, deciding on telling a half truth.

The guard sighed, "Three years after the war and we still have dragons misplaced by it, very well, come with me, I know a place where you can spend the night," he said, talk about a lucky break! I didn't know where he would be taking me, but anywhere had to be better than bumbling outside in the freezing cold right?

The guard suddenly stopped at a rather rickety looking building, there was a sign that hung loosely from it's side that read, "Karius' Shelter for the Homeless," in that same weird language the old note had been written in, I guess this was just this world's standard alphabet. Although I kinda had some issues with being taken to a homeless shelter, but I **was** technically homeless, and this **was** a shelter, so I guess it was fitting.

The guard lead me inside, "KARIUS! I've got another straggler for ya," called the guard, suddenly another one of those weird looking cat people appeared from behind a counter, his eyes were an emerald color, he wore a green cape over a brown tunic. The cape was held in place by a paw print buckle, his expression was kind, gentle.

He hopped over the counter, walking over and kneeling in front of me so he was eye level, "Quite a dreadful night to be out and about lad," He said, he had a rather thick Irish accent for some reason. The cat man, Karius I guess, stood up and turned his head to the guard, "Thank you Tremor, this is a terrible night for someone as small as he to be out there freezing his tail off," he said, giving the guard a name.

Tremor nodded, "Indeed, although I do wonder why he felt the need to paint himself purple, seems to be an awful poor taste, especially on the eve of the third anniversary of Spyro's passing," He said, again with the paint thing?! I didn't know if it was a good idea to tell them I really **was** Spyro, they might think I'm trying to prank them or worse get pissed off and throw me back out on the street! So I stayed quiet.

Karius smiled, "Ah, probably just some jokers having a laugh, some kids have no respect for the poor souls who find themselves without a home," he suggested. "Right now though, I think this one could do with a nice warm fireplace," He said before scooping me off the ground, carrying me in his arms like a little dog. It was so weird being small enough for someone to do that, I was actually pretty tall as Jason Allen, so being this short was a bit of a departure for me.

Tremor nodded, "Well I'd best be off, the captain will have my head if I don't finish my patrol," He said before taking his leave.

Karius carried me into another room, a small fireplace sat in the center, Karius proceeded to light it with a match, the flame instantly began to warm my body, I felt so cozy, I began to curl myself up like a dog about to take a nap, "There ya are lad," He said as he began to stroke the back of my head, it was a strange sensation for someone who once thought he was human, but I was so cozy I didn't really mind too much. "This isn't paint… is it?" He then suddenly asked me. My eyes widened, how did he know? "You're really him aren't you? Spyro I mean?" he then said with a hopeful twinkle in his emerald eyes.

I debated answering, not sure if he'd believe my story or not, but well, I wasn't going to lie to the guy either, "Yeah… I am," I said, I was still having a little difficulty accepting that I was Spyro, part of me still insisted I was Jason, but I knew deep down, Spyro was who I really was, even if I didn't want to fully accept it yet.

Karius instantly got excited, grinning a big, goofy grin across his fuzzy face, "Well I'll be, I **knew** you weren't dead! Where have you been all these years lad? Everyone here thought you dead," He asked me.

Well, no avoiding it now, "Would you believe I was living in another world, living a fake life and thinking I was someone else for three years?" I said, I felt an uncomfortable knot form in my stomach upon saying that, I didn't want to think of my life as Jason as "fake", but there was no other way of describing it than that.

Karius laughed a little, "Boy, I've seen all kinds of crazy things in my time, things that would turn your scales white! I'd believe anything at this point," he said. "But you seem a tad glum about it, you leave some friends and family behind in this "fake" life of yours?" He asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, I only got to say goodbye to one of them, and… I don't remember anything about my life here, I feel kind of… alone… like I have no where to go," I said, it was nice having a friendly face to talk to about this, as cool as Ignitus was, I didn't get the impression he quite understood why abruptly leaving my life as Jason behind upset me as much as it had, maybe Karius would understand more?

Karius nodded, "I have an idea of what that feels like, I left everything behind when I left the cheetah village in Avalar, I wanted to make a difference, help with the recovery effort in Warfang, Prowlus didn't approve of course, he's always had a ten foot stick up his arse that one," He said with a slight laugh, the name Prowlus had some familiarity to it, but just like everything else here, had no real memories attached to it yet, "But… I like what I'm doing here, helping those who can't help themselves, giving them a warm place to stay, food for their empty bellies, there are days when I miss those I left behind, but I've made plenty of good friends in Warfang I wouldn't trade for the world," he said.

He then began to pat my head, "You just need to find those kinds of people Spyro, I can't say you'll ever stop missing the friends you had to leave behind, you shouldn't, you never forget your friends, even if you can't see them anymore, but having someone there for you sure helps it hurt a whole lot less," he explained.

It made sense, I never wanted to forget Zack, mom, or even Shaun, even if I couldn't see them ever again, I'd still keep them in my heart while I reconnected with this new life I knew nothing about. "You know, I never got the chance to meet you before you vanished," Karius said, "I never expected it to be like **this** , but… I'm glad I got to meet you, even if you don't remember a thing, it's still an honor to have a hero like you in my humble little shelter," he said.

I wasn't used to being looked **up** to, when I was Jason, I was this forgettable, kinda there guy who the rest of the world seemed to ignore, but here? Karius clearly had some kind of reverence for me, it was an alien feeling for me, even if this **was** my past life. "I… I'm sorry… I'm just not used to being… revered like this… that wasn't exactly how things were in that other world," I said awkwardly.

Karius seemed kind of surprised by this, "You saved the world lad! Not many people can say that now can they?" he said with a laugh, "Although, I should warn you, some may not take your return well, while the dark armies are in shambles, they're still out there, still hurting people, some people may feel you abandoned us," he said, I felt a ping of guilt in my gut upon hearing this, I hadn't even considered something like that, that my old enemies might still be out there, still hurting people. Karius noticed this instantly, "Relax lad, I never said they'd be right, like I said, the dark armies ain't what they used to be, and I can tell you wouldn't abandon us on purpose, I'm just preparing you in case you run into someone who thinks differently is all," he said.

His words did little to ease the guilt though, Ignitus had given me a similar warning before I had left, but now I had **context** for it. I abandoned this world, left it to the mercy of those who still wished to do it harm, what kind of "hero" **does** that? I honestly couldn't blame anyone for hating me after ditching their world to go play human for three years! Did I even deserve to reclaim this life? Ignitus and Karius both seemed to think so, but I was beginning to have doubts.

Karius stood up, "Well whatever the case, you're more than welcome to spend the night, I can imagine you've had **quite** the day," he said, yeah no kidding. For all tense and purposes, this was probably one of the **worst** days of my life. Between the headaches, visions, learning my human life was fake and that I left a whole other world **and** life behind for three years, I don't know how much worse a day **could** get short of some horrible tragedy or the actual apocalypse occurring. I felt so tired right now, the fire was so cozy, I just wanted to pass out right then and there. I felt a soft, cloth blanket drape over me, I didn't know what insane adventures awaited for me tomorrow, but whatever they happened to be, I just hope I can make it through okay. I had a whole other life right under my nose the whole time and I didn't even know it, one that I hoped I'd get to remember eventually…

* * *

 **A/N: And for the first time this whole story, Spyro finally gets to get a good night's sleep. Poor little guy deserves it after the hell he's been through.**

 **I think that's something a lot of these "human to dragon" stories don't touch on enough, the** _ **human**_ **element, being ripped right from one life and plopped into another you barely understand isn't something you just get over instantly, it would be like if everyone you ever cared about suddenly vanished, oh and now you're body is completely different too! I don't know about you, but to me, that idea is** _ **terrifying**_ **.** **I guess that's why I liked writing these kinds of stories so much, in the right hands, they can be pretty good character studies. I just wish more people saw them that way instead of boring wish fulfillment where ungodly genetic realignment is the magic band aid for all of life's problems.**

 **Granted, I still strongly stand by my belief that people should be allowed to write whatever kind of stories they want to, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish people would explore the possibilities of these kind of stories instead of just "check out my awesome OC lolz!" No offense to those who do write those kind of stories, but still, there's no harm in trying to reinvent the wheel sometimes.**

 **So far, I'm really liking where I'm taking this rewrite, making it different while keeping the same core of the original. Adding more characters and fleshing out the ones that were already there more. I think me being more comfortable with my writing style now than I was back then helps, back in 2014, I was still relatively new to writing novel style, and thanks to suggestions from readers over the years, I've finely tuned my craft to something that's hopefully more readable than the average YouTube comment.**

 **What's that? I'm rambling? What do you mean TL;DR?! Your FACE is TL;DR! Yeah… BURN! I… I'll shut up now…**


	6. The Dragoness in the Graveyard

**Chapter 5:** **The Dragoness in the Graveyard**

* * *

 _ **Karius' Shelter for the Homeless, Warfang, Early Morning…**_

* * *

You know, you never really do appreciate the peaceful serenity of a dreamless sleep until you've been subjected to horrible nightmares every night for over a month. I haven't slept that good in **forever**! A small part of me had hoped that the whole Spyro thing had also been just one big nightmare, but the second I opened my eyes and was met with the sight of Karius' shelter, that little hope died then and there.

What time was it? There was no clock in the room, hell I didn't even know if this world **had** clocks. I looked to the window, it was clearly day, but it was snowing heavily, it was so odd to me that it was winter here when it was just barely autumn in the human world, the seasons in this world must be different or the two worlds just aren't in sync with each other, neither would surprise me quite frankly. I yawned as I stretched my limbs, today was going to be another rough one, thankfully not **as** rough as yesterday hopefully, but still, I knew I was going to get started on reconnecting to my old life here today, I just wasn't sure how I was going to go about that, but I hoped I'd figure it out eventually.

I never really got to get a good look at the shelter last night, since it was so dark and all, the room I was in was decently furnished, a small scarlet couch with a brass frame sat behind me, flanked on both sides by two soft seats. Bookshelves covered the whole back wall, stuffed to the brim with books of various sizes and thickness, some books looked like they had seen better days with torn and worn covers and yellowed pages. A rather musty looking globe sat in the far corner, naturally it depicted a planet that only _vaguely_ resembled the earth **I** knew. I guess this room was meant to be some kind of study or possibly a library, but it was awfully small.

I could hear faint chatter coming from the next room, the smell of freshly cooked foods tickled at my nostrils. I felt myself drawn into the next room, whether it was from curiosity or the aroma of food I couldn't say, but as soon as the door creaked open I was met with quite the sight.

There were tons of people there, all sitting at tables, enjoying their good food and conversation, creatures of all kinds made up the crowd, everything from moles to dragons occupied the room. However, they all shared a similar disheveled look, those who had cloths wore tattered old rags, covered with hastily stitched patches. The cheetah's fur was mangled and unkempt, even the dragons had tattered wing membrane and even chunks of their horns missing. It didn't take an expert to figure out these people were homeless, but despite that, they seemed quite happy. it kinda gave me an idea of the kind of shelter Karius ran, he didn't just give them shelter from the cold, he took **care** of them, gave them what they needed, treated them like **people**.

"Spyro my boy!", speaking of Karius, I saw him waving to me from behind a counter, little bar stools lined the counter not unlike what you'd find in a diner. "Grab a seat lad, I bet after the day you had yesterday you could do with a nice warm breakfast eh?" He asked.

As if on cue, my stomach grumbled, letting me know it agreed with Karius' observation. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, come to think of it, **this** body technically hasn't eaten for three years! I found myself unable to resist the prospect of a freshly cooked meal, struggling a bit to climb onto one of the bar stools, I still wasn't used to my new body, so this was a **bit** more difficult than it should have been. But by the time I had managed to finally pull myself up, Karius had already fixed my plate.

Two eggs over easy, a very simple breakfast, but I appreciated seeing **something** familiar in this weird world I barely knew. It made me feel a bit homesick though, remembering the simple breakfasts I shared with mom and Shaun. "I know it's not much, but money is pretty tight and I have to work within my means," said Karius.

To be honest, I preferred the simplicity, it was a nice change of pace as far as I was concerned. That and I'm pretty sure my hungry dragon belly didn't care what was on the plate, as long as it was food. Instincts began to take over, and I began to use my claws like cutlery, something I had seen some of the dragons in the room do. The movements felt strangely natural, as I began to stuff my purple face. It's kinda funny, I never used to care for eggs, I had memories of mom having to fight with me to get me to eat them when I was little, or… rather… when **Jason** was little.

That still felt so weird to me, having another person's memories in my head, and none of my own, I mean, I guess the past three years **were** technically **my** memories, but you get what I mean. It was hard for me to tell where Spyro began and Jason ended. "My, I guess when you left that other world you brought quite an appetite with ya," Karius commented. I just nodded and continued to scarf down the eggs.

"I don't suppose you've had any luck remembering anything about your life here?" asked Karius, I closed my eyes and tried to find any memories of my past life from my mind but, once again came up empty.

I sighed, "No, sorry," I said, "I don't even know where to begin as far as reconnecting with my old life, my plan before that guard found me was to just wander aimlessly and hope I found someone," I said, it was an incredibly **stupid** plan mind you, especially in **that** kind of weather, but it was all I really had.

Karius rested his elbows on the counter, leaning in close, "You could always try the Dragon Temple, there's bound to be someone who knew you there," he suggested. "It's the biggest buildin' in the whole city, ya can't miss it," he added. It made sense, I **was** a dragon after all, and a place calling itself the **dragon** temple sounded like a place a dragon like me would hang around in.

"What is the dragon temple? Some kind of hang out for dragons?" I asked, it would help me a ton to know a bit about the place before I went bumbling around in it like the idiot amnesiac I currently was. Did my situation qualify as amnesia? I guess it did, I **did** have no memory of my life here, but I **did** have memories of my human life though, god this is so confusing.

"The Dragon Temple is where The Guardians raise up the wee dragons of the city, I'm willin' to bet you were trained by them at some point, although **that** version of the Dragon Temple was destroyed by Malefor during the war, the new one was made shortly after the war ended, them moles are fast builders I'll tell you that much," he explained.

Strangely I felt a tinge of anxiety when I heard that these "Guardians" probably knew me, I hadn't ran into anyone I knew in my past life yet, and Ignitus' warning about not everyone reacting well to my return didn't help matters. What if they hated me for leaving? Hell, that was assuming they even believed I was Spyro. Everyone else seemed to be of the mind that I was just some kid who painted himself purple for a cheap laugh.

I almost didn't want to bring it up, but right now, Karius was the closest thing to a friend I had in this world right now, "D… do you think they'll be mad at me? I mean, I **did** vanish for three years," I asked.

Karius just laughed and shook his head, "You're **still** on that?" he said, as if I was being ridiculous or something, "Well, I can't say for sure either way, I'm not exactly the kind of guy who interacts with such important people as The Guardians lad, but I still think it's worth a try, there's three of them so odds are at least **one** will be happy to see your mug again," he said.

That didn't offer me as much comfort as he clearly thought it did. I still remembered how badly that nightmare had gotten to me, hearing those dragons call me a coward and berate me for abandoning them, I don't think I could go through that again. But, Karius was right, I **had** to at least try, as the dreams kept trying to beat into my head, I can't keep running from my past, I had to confront it whether I was ready for it or not. "You're right, I can't keep running from my past, I have to face it," I said.

Karius gave me a pat on the head, "That's the spirit lad, now I think it might be a good idea to get goin' as soon as you're ready, you don't want to be caught outside at night in this kind of weather again," He said.

With that, I hopped off the bar stool as Karius lead me to the front door, "Well Spyro, it was a pleasure havin' ya in my humble shelter, I hope you find what you're lookin for," said Karius, "Come back anytime ya like, my door's always open," he added with a friendly wink.

I was just about to exit through the door when suddenly, "Wait..." a voice said, one of the dragons in the room stood up, a yellow one, "I… Is he really **him**? Is he really Spyro?" He asked.

The others in the room began to chatter, some looked shocked, while others looked downright pissed! "I… uh… yes?" I said awkwardly, knowing full well some of these people weren't going to be thrilled to learn their hero had ditched them for the better part of three years. This caused them to chatter more, I could pick out a few words from the noise.

"He's back?"

"I thought he was dead?!"

"Where was **he** when my family was attacked by a band of apes?!"

"You mean that **isn't** paint?"

"Why would he abandon us?! I thought he was a hero?!"

"What's a dragon like **him** doing in a place like **this**?"

The crowd began to get restless, beginning to swarm around me and Karius like a hoard of zombies on a kill. "I… I think it might be best for you to get out of here now Spyro while I try to calm these people down," said Karius. I wasn't going to argue, I'd rather **not** get swarmed by an angry mob today thank you.

I quickly darted out the door while Karius tried his best to calm the crowd down. Yeah I don't think it'll be safe for me to go back there for a while. I should have known that this kind of situation would happen to me eventually, it was kinda hard to miss the fact I was purple after all. Man, I was either being ignored, or having people wanting to beat my face in… it's just like high school.

I took a few breaths before beginning my walk to the Dragon Temple, I was once again alone, already missing the friendly company I had found in Karius, it was just me and the gently falling snow, but at least I had a destination this time, it was more than I had when I got here that was for sure. But still, having someone to make this trip with would have helped me a lot.

This city felt so lonely, the streets were almost completely empty, save for the odd guard making their rounds, this was probably a byproduct of the snow storm, no one wanted to be caught outside in it, no one but the lonely dragon desperately trying to find even one connection to the life he left behind in this god forsaken world.

The fog was so thick I could barely see ten feet in front of me, how was I supposed to find the Dragon Temple in **this** weather? It probably would have been a better idea to stay at the shelter until the storm passed, but the angry mob inside it kinda made that a bit difficult. So I just kept walking, keeping an eye out for any sign of this Dragon Temple.

After what felt like hours of walking, I soon found myself confronted with some kind of iron gate, the bars were an ominous dark metal, lined on both sides by a chest high stone wall. Seeing no other options, I opened the gate, the aged iron door whined loudly as I pushed it open with my nose, the snow offering some resistance but not much. I began to walk forward, hoping to myself that gate was some kind of entrance to the Dragon Temple grounds.

However, I started to notice head stones begin to line the path I was walking on, telling me I had bumbled into a cemetery of some kind. I should probably head back, but a part of me hoped that the cemetery would be connected in some way to the Dragon Temple, it was a long shot sure, but I was just trying my best to stay positive.

That was until I happened upon a large statue right in my path, I slowly craned my head upwards, the statue was made of a slightly shiny rock, despite it being covered in snow, I could tell it was a dragon, it's head looking off to the side, wings spread wide, the pose was heroic, strong. The base of the statue was slanted, smooth stone, a brass plaque bolted to it's base.

There was writing on it, but the snow was covering it slightly, so I brushed it aside with my left paw, revealing it's message.

" _Here lies the brave hero who sacrificed everything to allow the world to know peace again, every heart in the realms aches for the loss of this brave young dragon, taken from us all far too young_

 _Rest well young dragon, may you spread your wings and soar with the ancestors, finally free at last._

 _Spyro_ "

I felt a tinge in my stomach, this was my **grave** , and I had just read my own epitaph! It was an unsettling experience, like staring my own death in the face. I began to second guess my self, what was I **doing?** These people didn't just think I went missing, they thought I was **dead**! They mourned me! **Buried** me! Shed their tears and said goodbye. But here I come to slap them all in the face just by **being** here again! How can I do this to them? It wasn't right! Ignitus had warned me that people thought I died, but I didn't think anything of it until I found myself face to face with my own grave.

I shouldn't be here, I had no **right** to be here! I just wanted to turn around and run away, far away, where I couldn't hurt anyone ever again! This was so different than just going back to an old life I left behind, I was basically rising from the dead! A big… purple zombie come to break everyone's hearts and tear up their grief and throw it back in their faces!

I went to run, get out of this god forsaken town, but stopped when I heard the cemetery gate's whine open, someone else was here! Without thinking I quickly hid myself behind a headstone. I saw a black figure slowly trudge up to my grave, it was only when the figure sat itself at the foot of my grave did I recognize her as the black dragoness from my nightmare.

She had a bundle of flowers clutched in her maw, her emerald eyes wet with tears as she stared at my stone visage. She slowly lowered her head, dropping the flowers at the base of the grave. "Today makes it three years since you died," she said, slightly choking on her words, "I've been trying my best to move on, to come to terms with my past, and the people who still hold it against me, I know it's what you would have wanted me to do, but… it's so hard without you there to push me along, tell me it's not my fault, that **they're** the ones who are ignorant," she continued.

She then began to break down, her legs wobbling, threatening to give way any moment, "WHY?! Why did you have to **die** Spyro?! You of **all** people deserved to see the peace you helped create! **I** should have been the one to die not you! I deserved it!" she sobbed, "But I know what you would say, you'd say I was being too hard on myself, you were always too noble for your own good," she said.

Despite not remembering anything about this poor dragon, I felt like my heart was being torn to pieces as I watched her mourn the loss of what was clearly her closest friend. Knowing that friend was **me** only made it hurt worse, she **needed** me, and I abandoned her to go play human in another world! I never felt so guilty in my life, I felt like the biggest scum bag in the universe, and I was trying to reclaim this life? How can I toy with these poor people's emotions like this? It was wrong! I should just leave, forget this whole thing.

But I couldn't… I can't just leave her like this, this poor thing needed a friend now more than ever, I owed her **that** much at least. So, against my better judgment, I slowly began to approach the grieving dragoness. I just wanted to hug her, tell her everything was going to be okay. I gently poked her back with my claw, "Go away, I want to be alone right now," She said, not even turning to face me.

I began to rethink my actions, I wanted to help this poor dragon, but would this **really** be helping her? I was about to destroy her whole world! Maybe I should- "Didn't you hear me?! I said I want to be alo-!" she screamed, turning to face me but stopping cold the second she saw my face.

Her green eyes just stared at me in disbelief, no doubt questioning if what she was seeing was real or not. Every fiber of my being wanted to cut and run, there was no way this would end well, but try as I might, I just couldn't will myself to leave her, not like this, "S...Spyro?" she said, her voice trembling.

I didn't know what to say, what **could** I say? I didn't remember anything about this dragoness, but knew she had a very deep connection with me. However I really began to regret my decision when I saw her face contort into a vicious snarl, "BASTARD!" she snarled as she struck me right in the left cheek. Despite her slender figure, she still hit rather hard, enough to force me to stumble a bit. "You were alive!? This whole time?! Where have you been?! Why didn't you come back sooner?! You didn't think to come once, if anything just to spare my feelings? You could have at least visited Sparx you heartless son of a bitch!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

She was furious with me, and I couldn't blame her, I deserved this to be honest, I abandoned her along with every other friend I made in this world! However, I had another question on my mind, it was debatable whether or not I should be **having** this question right now, but, "W… Who's Sparx?" I asked. "A… And who are **you**? D… Do I know you?" I questioned. That last one was kinda worded badly on my part, of **course** she knew you! She was mourning at your grave you idiot! But I wanted to know who she was, I felt like she was important, it almost tore at me that I couldn't remember her.

The dragoness just sort of stared at me for a moment, a mix of anger and confusion clear on her face, "Oh that's **really** funny Spyro! Toy with my emotions **more** why don't you?! Am I supposed to believe you forgot **Sparx** of all people?! You two were practically joined at the hip!" She berated me, making it clear I had only managed to somehow make things even **worse**. Because of course I did, worse still I couldn't say I blamed her, I made her think I was dead for three years, of course she was mad! All I could do was just cower as she laid into me, having no memory of this dragoness didn't help matters at all.

However, oddly, her anger began to lessen a little, as if she just noticed something, she was still kind of shaking a bit, so there was still some anger, but it seemed to be being overwhelmed by her confusion, "You aren't joking are you?" she asked me. I saw her posture begin to lose it's aggression, maybe it was how much I was cowering or the hopelessly confused and terrified look on my face that was doing it? But something was causing her to ease up. "You don't remember anything… do you?" she asked me, her voice wavering slightly.

I tried once more to recall any sort of memory I could, but once again came up with nothing, "No… nothing..." I said, I felt horrible, like the biggest jerk in the universe, what was I even **doing** here? All I was accomplishing right now was messing with this dragoness' poor head.

So I tried to back away, I thought it best to just leave her alone, but she suddenly grabbed my front leg, "Wait!" she said, she seemed to take a moment, as if what she was trying to say to me was caught in her throat. But eventually, she managed to will it out, "Tell me honestly… do you **really** not remember anything? The Guardians? Sparx? Hunter?… me?" she asked me.

She seemed to choke up a bit on the last one, as if the idea I forgot her really hurt her, but I couldn't lie to her, so I shook my head, "I don't remember anything about this world, my life here, nothing! Every time I see my reflection it's like a stranger's face staring back at me! I want to remember… but I **can't** … I can't," I sobbed, the guilt was beginning to eat me alive, the things I must be putting this poor dragoness through right now, the emotions that must be running through her head, why am I doing this to her? What did **she** do to deserve this? To have her heart torn in several different directions as her so called "friend" couldn't even remember her goddamn name!

The dragoness took a moment to digest it all, her emerald eyes darting in several directions as she began to piece it all together. "Spyro… I..." she stammered, "I'm sorry… if I had known you lost your memory…" she began choking up slightly, she took a minute to compose herself before continuing "Here you are with no memory at all, lost and confused, and here **I** am yelling at you! Ancestors, I even **hit** you! I'm sorry… I shouldn't have taken out my emotions on you like that… it's just… it's been a rough three years, **very** rough," she said, was… was she **apologizing**? What for?! **I'm** the guilty one here! I made you think I was dead for three years!

I shook my head, "You have every right to! I heard what you said to my grave, I hurt you! I **abandoned** you! You were my friend and I can't even remember your goddamn name! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have come here! I can't toy with your emotions like this it isn't right!" I said. I was downright hysterical, so overwhelmed with guilt I felt almost sick.

However, the dragoness stopped me, "Spyro it's okay! You don't have to kill yourself over me you big goof, you didn't abandon anyone, you have no memory, you were just lost is all, but you came back, you're **home** ," she said.

I sniffled, I could barely bring myself to look her in the eyes, "I… that's not **exactly** what happened," I said, I wanted to be honest with her, I wasn't going to skirt by on lies here, I wanted her to know what I've **really** been doing for three years, "I was in another world, living as a human named Jason, some guy named Ignitus told me The Ancestors were repairing my body the whole time, I… I only learned about it yesterday, I was so overwhelmed by it all, I still am-" I began to explain, but the dragoness suddenly put a claw to my snout, telling me through a simple gesture to hush.

"Spyro, relax," she told me, "It doesn't change anything, you never abandoned anyone, granted, I have a **lot** of questions, but I don't think you have the answers for them anyway," she said with a small laugh, "The important thing is, you're back, you're **alive** , that means so much more to me than you know," she said.

I decided to ask the question again, "Who are you? I feel like you're so important, a big part of my life here, but no matter how hard I try, I can't remember you," I said.

The dragoness smiled slightly, "I'm Cynder, you rescued me from The Dark Master's control six years ago, and ever since then you did everything you could to help me put those horrible days as **his** general behind me," she explained. Finally, I was beginning to learn something about my past outside of how I supposedly saved the world.

However, suddenly I felt something I thought I had left behind in the human world, one of those horrible splitting headaches, I groaned and stumbled back as my head pounded, I heard Cynder call my name as images began to flash in my head.

But this time I could make them out, visions of me fighting some fierce dark dragoness, she looked like a much older Cynder, darker, more sinister. The visions stopped and the headache passed, I opened my eyes to see Cynder standing over me, looking **very** worried, "Spyro? Are you okay? What happened?" she asked me.

I took a minute to catch my breath, "I… I saw some kind of vision… some… evil older looking you… we were fighting…" I tried to explain, to be honest, I wasn't one hundred percent sure **what** I saw exactly, they were just still images, flashing in rapid succession, like someone flipping through their scrapbook.

Cynder's expression seemed to sadden upon hearing the mention of this evil, older her, "That… that was me… when I was under Malefor's control," she said, it was easy to tell by the tone she spoke with that she still felt a lot of guilt over whatever it was she had done as that version of herself.

Well now I felt even **worse** , nice one Spyro! Make her feel **more** guilty why don't you? "Cynder, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to-" I began but Cynder stopped me again.

Shaking her head, "It's okay Spyro," She said, "I just… I don't look back on those days very fondly, I hurt a lot of good people as that dragoness," she said, "But, this is a good sign, you're starting to remember things, your memories are still there, we just have to bring them out," she said.

I guess I should have figured they were still there, those guilt ridden dreams had to have come from **somewhere** after all, but I didn't like the fact my first returned memories were of such a dark time in Cynder's life. It's like if you just caught up with an old friend, but the first memory you brought up to them was the time they kicked a puppy's head so hard it spun like a propeller blade. Not exactly the kind of thing you **wanted** to be reminded of.

However, I was glad I reunited with Cynder, it was nice having someone directly connected with my past to help me along. I felt comfortable around Cynder, it was a similar feeling I had when I was around Zack, this person I could depend on, trust, I didn't feel alone anymore. "Come on, we should get inside, the storm's starting to pick up and I'd rather not get caught in it," said Cynder.

Yeah, that was probably a good idea, snow storms sucked even at the best of times, but getting caught in one with nothing to defend me from the cold but my bare scales sounded horrible. Cynder began to lead me out of the cemetery, I felt a lot more comfortable having a guide now, no more aimless wandering hoping to god I happen to stumble upon something, was it too much for me to hope **every** encounter with my old Dragon Realm friends would be this smooth?… yeah… it probably was…

 **A/N: Cynder joined the party!**

 **It seems Spyro has finally caught a break and found a friend at last, however, his other friends may not react as well as Cynder did…**

 **and now for something completely different! Real life nonsense you probably don't care about, but I'm going to rant about anyway!**

 **Okay… when I wanted to revive one of my old stories, the war with my laptop was NOT one of the ones I had in mind!**

 **Those who used to read my fanfics back in 2014 may remember the on going war I had with my laptop throughout most of it, the viruses, the hard locks, the lag, it was about as fun as you'd think it was.**

 **And boy oh boy did it decide to make it a GRAND return, as it decided to completely lock up, every time I'd try to log in, it would freeze. Even when I booted into safe mode, it would still lock up when I tried to select my profile. So… with little options, I had to pull a Malefor on my hardrive, and cleanse it all.**

 **Yes, I had to do a factory reset, this isn't the first time I've had to do something like this, always back up your stuff kids, that's a free tip from your old uncle Foowd. I didn't sadly, I happened to have a few things stored on my OneDrive from when I moved laptops last year so I managed to save some things.** **Thankfully nothing too important was lost, just a few failed story ideas, the backups to my already poste** **d chapters (which I'm going to back up so I don't lose them) and… sadly… the progress I had made on** _ **this**_ **chapter the previous night.**

 **So I had to rewrite the whole damn thing, I'm annoyed, frustrated, but thankfully, it's over with, for now at least,** **it seems** **my goddamn laptop is the** _ **real**_ **Dark Master here apparently!**

 **Laptop: Mewhahahaha! I have cleansed the Hard Drive! Such is the destiny of** **all** **Purple Laptop** **s** **!**

 **What? Y-** **You're not even** _ **purple**_ **! Gagh! Never buy your laptops on** **online** **kids… you never know what you're going to get…**

 **As a funny little aside, I was asked if "Jason" and "Shaun"'s names were references to the two kids from the game Heavy Rain.**

 **Yes and no, Jason's name wasn't originally, but when I decided to flesh out Jason'** **s character** **a bit more, I chose to give him a brother, and for whatever reason, I decided it would be funny to make his name a reference to Heavy Rain. I'm kind of surprised no one picked up on it until now.**

 **A Spyro story that references a David Cage game?** **Y** **up it's definitely a Foowd story alright! Derp!**

 **Update: 12/4/18: It was pointed out to me by a reviewer that the scene where Spyro and Cynder meet was a bit rushed, so I decided it rewrite it from the "Who's Sparx" line onward, I have never done something like this before, but I do have to admit, the new version of the scene is MUCH better in my opinion. But I will admit, rewriting several paragraphs while trying your hardest not to change TOO much lest I risk confusing those who have already read beyond this point AND keeping continuity intact was a HUGE task! But I did it! Are you proud of me ma? No? I'm still a disappointment? Aww…**


	7. The Guardians

**Chapter 6: The Guardians**

* * *

It seems my previous assumption that the Dragon Temple was connected to the cemetery was actually quite accurate, as the temple was **right** next to it. On the way there, Cynder began to ask me about my life as Jason, I wasn't sure if she was just fishing for things to talk about or just genuinely curious how I had been spending the last three years, but whatever the case, she seemed amazed by this whole other world that up until now, she had no idea existed just out of reach of her own.

However, eventually, the subject of my nightmare came up, part of me didn't want to tell her about it, out of fear that what her dream self said had some truth to it. But of course, "So, was I in that dream?" she asked me.

I felt an uncomfortable pit in my stomach, knowing I had to tell her the truth, I had promised myself I was going to be as honest with Cynder as I possibly could, as some kind of repentance for leaving her for three years. "You were… you were so angry with me, accusing me of abandoning you to a world that hated you, and that I didn't really care about you, I think your exact words were that you were "Just a lost puppy in need of rescuing in" in my eyes, "My little pet project", did I really make you feel that way?" I asked.

Cynder sighed, "I can't lie to you Spyro, there were days where I did feel that way,"she admitted, causing me to feel another ping of guilt, "But deep down, I knew that wasn't true, you legitimately cared about me, otherwise you would have just left me in Convexity," she added, "It wasn't me saying those things Spyro, it must have been some manifestation of your own guilt, some subconscious need to punish yourself, I've experienced something like that myself," she added.

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" I asked. I knew she had some inner guilt over whatever it was this Malefor guy made her do, but something about the way she worded it made it sound like I wasn't the only one having guilt based nightmares.

Cynder sighed again, "I have nightmares too sometimes, I'm always in an empty, burnt forest, being scolded by all my victims from my "Terror of the Skies" days, they only got worse after you "died", as you joined their numbers," she explained. "You always told me it was my fault you died, that you wasted your time trying to help me, that if it weren't for me you wouldn't have had to sacrifice yourself… and I believed you," she said.

I shook my head, "I don't think that at all," I said, "I admit, I don't remember sacrificing myself, let alone the circumstances leading into it, but there's no way it could have been **your** fault," I said, trying my best to help her like any good friend should.

Cynder smiled a little, "I knew you'd say something like that," she said, "Despite not remembering a thing, here you are still trying to help me ease my guilt," she continued, "But still… it was how I felt," she added, however, she quickly shook her head, "But that doesn't matter now, you're back, you're **okay** , that's all that matters," she said.

I didn't like the idea of her blaming herself for my sacrifice, I admit, I didn't remember as much about Cynder as I would have liked, but from what I've seen, there's no way she could have done any of this to me on purpose. But it was clear she wanted to drop the topic and I didn't want to push too hard. "So… what are we doing now?" I asked, giving her that change of subject she clearly wanted.

Cynder seemed to appreciate the gesture, shooting me a little smile, "We're going to tell The Guardians you're back," she told me, I should have figured that, it **was** what I was planning on doing before stumbling upon Cynder.

However, I figured Cynder knew The Guardians better than Karius did, so I think it might be a good idea to ask her about them, "Someone told me I might have known them, who were they?" I asked her.

Cynder stopped and turned to me, "Right, I forgot for a second you had no memory of your life here," she admitted with a nervous chuckle, "There were once four of them, Volteer, Terrador, Cyril, and Ignitus," she explained, "However, Ignitus died the same day you did, or… so we thought apparently," she added, Ignitus' involvement had been one of the things I had mentioned during a previous conversation, apparently according to her he had become what was known to the people of this world as "The Chronicler", some kind of mystical being who watched over time, kinda like The Watchers from the Marvel Universe I guess, god I'm such a geek. "There's only three of them now though, we toyed with the idea of bringing in a new Fire Guardian, but… none of them liked the idea of "replacing" Ignitus, so we never did," she added. "After you and Ignitus were lost, all four of us kind of grew a bit closer, especially me and Volteer, he seemed to be the one who wanted the hardest to pick up where you left off, trying to help me come to terms with not just your passing, but with my own past as well, becoming something of a father figure, like Ignitus used to be with you," she explained.

It was relieving to know someone was trying to pick up my slack, help Cynder deal with her personal demons, "But it wasn't the same, Volteer, bless his heart, didn't have the same connection you and I did, you seemed to understand me more, I guess it was how close we were in age, I don't know," she explained. "Back then, all six of us, we were like a little family almost, well seven if you count Sparx, but you two were already sort of family" she said.

So Karius was right, I **did** know the Guardians, **very** well it seemed. I couldn't lie though, it made me kind of hesitant to meet them, I still remembered how poorly Cynder reacted to me at first, she only calmed down when she realized I had no memory, I didn't know if I'd be so fortunate with The Guardians. "Cynder, be honest with me, how do you think The Guardians will react, you know, to me being… ya know… not dead?" I asked.

Cynder frowned a little, "I can't lie to you Spyro, they may not react well, Volteer probably will, but that's just the kind of dragon he is, it's almost impossible to upset that little electric ball of sunshine," she explained. "It's Terrador and Cyril I'm worried about, they both didn't take your death very well, Terrador tries to act tough, hide his pain, but his eyes always gave him away, I can tell he still misses you and Ignitus, Cyril also tries to hide how much he hurt, but he wasn't nearly as good at it as Terrador was, I've caught him a few times talking to your grave and the statue of Ignitus outside the temple," she explained.

Crap, well at least I had some idea of what I was dealing with here, I still felt horrible about doing this to my friends, I still felt like I was toying with their emotions, despite how much I wanted to reconnect with my life here, part of me just wanted to leave them alone, to not hurt them anymore. But I couldn't run from my past, I had to confront it, even if it hurt.

Eventually we found the entrance to the temple, sure enough, the statue of Ignitus Cynder had mentioned stood at the base of the steps leading into it, I wonder how The Guardians would feel knowing Ignitus became The Chronicler? Probably about as well as they would knowing I had been alive the whole time they've been grieving, as in, not too well.

We entered the temple, despite it's rather lavish exterior, the inside of the temple was rather simple, stone floors and plain walls, lined with brass linings with intricate symbols molded into them. Each rounded hall was lined with lit torches and lead into circular rooms, one was rather large, with piles of straw dummies bound in rucksacks and twigs for bodies, Cynder told me that it was known as the "Dragon Dojo", apparently The Guardians used it to train young dragons to use their elements.

Eventually she lead me to a long hall, which ended with a room filled to the brim with lines of bookshelves, a library of some sort, inside the library however was someone sorting the books while humming a little tune to himself.

I recognized the dragon instantly as the yellow one from my nightmare. My previous theory that every dragon I encountered in that nightmare being someone I knew was proving to be quite accurate so far. Although here he seemed to be far more upbeat, merrily sorting through his ludicrous amount of books.

I went to approach, but Cynder stopped me, "I think I should ease him into it, it might be easier on him," she told me. Yeah, that was probably a better plan in fairness, the last thing I wanted was to freak the poor guy out. After all, if **you** saw your friend who you thought was dead for three years suddenly walk up to you and say hi, you'd probably freak out too.

So I let Cynder approach the yellow dragon, hiding myself behind the bend of one of the halls for good measure. The yellow dragon noticed Cynder almost instantly, "Ah! Cynder, how are you holding up? I know this day can be quite trying for you, I do hope you're in better spirits than the previous two times this sorrowful day passed us by," he greeted her, his speech was kind of quick, almost **hyper** , like he had just downed several Red Bulls and thus bursting with energy.

Cynder fidgeted a little, possibly unsure how to approach the subject she had wanted to discuss with him. "I am actually," she said simply.

The yellow dragon seemed pretty pleased by this, "That's very good to hear Cynder, I always worry about you on this day, I know Spyro and Ignitus' deaths weigh heavily on your conscience," he said.

Cynder sighed, "Yeah, about that," she said before turning to me, jerking her head slightly, signaling she wanted me to approach.

So I did, timidly walking over to the yellow dragon, weary of how he would react to seeing me alive, it didn't take long for him to realize who I was, one look at my purple scales and face told him exactly why Cynder was feeling better on this particular day. "Well I'll be…" he said as I finally reached him.

He then out of nowhere scooped me off the floor, embracing me in a rather tight hug, "Spyro my boy! You're **alive**! Everyone thought you deceased but I always had faith! Oh this is wonderful! Stupendous! Enthralling! Marvelous!-" He said, listing off as many synonyms for "good" as he could come up with. There was something strangely endearing about it, like it was this cute little quirk of his. However, he eventually managed to stop himself, "Where have you **been** my boy?" he asked me.

However, in his excitement, the dragon seemed to forget how strong he was, "Dude… too tight… can't breathe!" I winced. The dragon quickly apologized after releasing his death grip on me. I took a few minutes to catch my breath, still fully intent on answering his question.

But Cynder stepped in for me, "He's been living in this other world while The Ancestors repaired his body, I found him in the cemetery with no memory at all, he doesn't remember anything about hi life here, but he's **alive** Volteer!" she said, revealing this yellow dragon was Volteer.

Volteer turned to me "Is that true? You don't remember anything?" he asked me, I tried once more to force any memories back to my head, but once again failed, so I shook my head. Volteer began to pat me on the head, "It's quite alright Spyro, I'm certain you will regain your lost cognitive recollections eventually," he said, why he felt the need to use such big words instead of just calling them "memories" was a mystery, I guess this was just another one of his little quirks. "But the important thing Spyro, is that you're here now, you're **safe** ," he reassured me.

So far I was two for two in successfully reconnecting with my old friends. But then again, Cynder did say Volteer was difficult to upset, so I don't know how much comfort I could really take in that.

However Volteer then turned to Cynder, "Cynder, if I may, I'd like to speak with you in private for a moment," He said suddenly, Cynder turned to me, as if silently asking my permission to go with Volteer, I didn't see the harm in it so I nodded, the two dragons then walked deeper into the library.

I don't know what it was that Volteer wanted to talk to Cynder privately about, but I trusted Cynder, whatever it was that Volteer wanted to talk to her about, I'm sure she'd tell me eventually. However, the halls of the temple were strangely quiet now that I was alone, almost unsettling, to be honest, I still didn't trust this world very much, the only things I remembered about it were the things revealed to me in that strange flashback I had in the cemetery, but Cynder's days as a brainwashed foot soldier didn't exactly help me understand this weird realm any better than I had before the headache.

However, I then heard the sounds of scraping claws against the stone floors, "Volteer? Are you here? Cyril's having troubles with the rebuilding efforts and I need-" A booming voice called, I recognized it instantly as belonging to that green dragon from my nightmare.

I dared a glance behind me, I was met with the shocked expression of the green dragon from my dream, still as stone save for his green eyes that darted up and down my form. "Uh… h… hi?" I said awkwardly, not entirely sure how to proceed here. Of all the times for this guy to find me, it **had** to be after Cynder left me alone right?

However things suddenly went south when the dragon quickly lowered his head, blowing onto the ground, it was only when a rock formation suddenly trapped me did I realize he was using his breath element on me, which was earth apparently. "IMPOSTOR!" He roared.

I began to panic, the rocks were pressing very tightly against my ribs, threatening to crack them at any moment. It was painful, almost **unbearable** , I wanted to cry out, scream for Cynder to come help, but the pressure was too tight to even allow for a desperate call for help.

The dragon slowly began to approach, "You must have some nerve shape shifter, taking on Spyro's form within **these** walls! Who are you? Some leftover abomination of Malefor's I assume?" He inquired. He seemed to be under the assumption I was some kind of doppelganger, which didn't bode well for **me** , because it was clear he had no qualms with killing me. Hell, I couldn't even **prove** I was Spyro, I had no memories to call upon to convince him, and I doubt he'd buy the "I used to be human" story.

I had to try **something** though, anything to convince him I wasn't a shape shifter, "Stop!… I'm… I'm really… Spyro..." I struggled, talking was very difficult with these rocks pressing so hard against my ribs, hell even **breathing** was proving to be very difficult. I wasn't going to last long trapped like this, or god forbid if he felt the need to **tighten** the rock prison!

The dragon didn't buy it, smacking me right across the face, "Spyro **died** three years ago! You must think me very thick impostor! Now talk! WHO SENT YOU?!" he roared, my head was spinning from the blow, this dragon was definitely as strong as he looked, hitting me with the force of a professional boxer, it was hard to think clearly, I think he might have even given me a concussion! "ANSWER ME!" he screamed, he clutched my horn in his claws, and began to twist, I could feel the horn shifting unnaturally from the force, threatening to tear itself from my skull like a grape from a vine. The pain was excruciating, I couldn't stop myself from screaming, the pain… oh god… make it stop! "The only one who prolongs this is you doppelganger! Ever since we lost Spyro and Ignitus I've taken the safety of my loved ones **very** seriously! If you think I'm above killing you painfully and slowly, you are sorely mistaken! So you'd best talk now, before I lose my patience!" He growled.

Suddenly I heard more claws clacking against the stone floor, but the green dragon's grip on my horn didn't let me turn to see if it was Cynder, Volteer, or another guardian who would be more than happy to help the green dragon beat the crap out of me. It was only when I saw Cynder begin to tug at the green dragon's arm did I realize it was her, "Terrador stop! Let him go! You're hurting him!" She pleaded.

However the green dragon, who was apparently Terrador, just simply snorted, "As if I care for the well being of this impostor!" He growled. Please oh god let Cynder be able to talk him down! I don't know how much longer I can hold out here, my horn felt like it was going to snap at any moment.

Cynder seemed to notice this, as she quickly began to pull at Terrador's claws, trying to loosen his grip on my horn, "This isn't an impostor! This is the real Spyro! Let him go!" she pleaded.

I saw Volteer began to try to pry Terrador off of me too, "Terrador stop this at once! You're going to rip his horn off! He'll bleed out!" he said, Terrador however seemed unwilling to listen, if anything he started to twist even **harder**. I began to whimper, terrified, pathetic, just wanting him to stop.

But he would not, "This **isn't** Spyro! Spyro is dead Volteer! This is nothing more than a shape shifter trying to toy with our emotions! Prey upon our grief for our lost friend! I won't **have** it!" he growled, he strangely seemed to be more trying to convince **himself** of that more than Cynder and Volteer. Was he in denial? I was in way too much pain to really tell, I was surprised my horn hadn't completely given way yet, but I could feel it was getting close.

Suddenly Volteer threw Terrador off of me, thankfully not taking my horn with him, as the force finally made Terrador let go, "Enough!" Volteer roared, "I find his sudden re-appearance suspect too Terrador! But this is nothing short of madness! Would a doppleganger show this much fear? Surely if he were a creation of Malefor's he would have tried to fight back!" He snapped.

Terrador shook his head, "If he were the real Spyro, he would know not to fear me!" he retorted as he got back up to his feet.

"He has no memory Terrador!" Cynder snapped, "For all he knew, you were some crazed dragon trying to kill him!" she added, making it a point to keep herself between me and Terrador.

Terrador however, just simply snorted in response, "How convenient," he scoffed.

Volteer just shook his head in disbelief, "Terrador what has gotten into you?! This is so unlike you! You're usually so level headed, so rational! This… this is bordering on rampant paranoia!" he said, he wasn't wrong, as valid as his distrust in my legitimacy was, he was showing strong signs of being in denial, completely unwilling to listen to two of his closest friends.

Cynder began to work on freeing me, some kind of mist shot from her mouth, after a while I began to phase through the rock prison like a ghost, I don't know **what** that was she just did, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, I was just glad my ribs weren't being crushed anymore. "Spyro? Are you okay?" asked Cynder as she helped me up.

However Terrador didn't give me a chance to answer, "Have you all gone mad?! Have you forgotten that Spyro is dead?! We held a memorial! Had a statue build! I wrote his epitaph!" Terrador said, revealing he was the one who wrote the epitaph on my grave. "This "dragon" is nothing but a fraud! A lie! A deception meant to toy with us and make us let our guard down! He's **not** Spyro!" He roared.

Those last three words began to echo in my head, " _he's not Spyro"…_ they repeated over and over, for whatever reason those words really stung, I felt like I was being rejected, that I wasn't good enough to be Spyro. At this point, trying to argue I **wasn't** Spyro was ridiculous, but still… was I though? I mean, I still didn't know where Jason ended and Spyro began, which parts of who I am were really me. I know that's not what Terrador meant when he said that, but it still made me question myself.

However, Terrador picked up on my self reflection instantly, "See?! Look at the way he reacted! He knows I figured him out! Go on doppelganger! Reveal your true self! You might as well!" He said, misinterpreting my moment of doubt as an admission of guilt.

However, I suddenly began to feel another headache coming on, made all the worse from the injuries Terrador had already inflicted upon me. I began to sway, struggling to stay on my feet, no doubt horrifying Volteer and Cynder, I began to see flashes of moments I had with Terrador, thanks brain, could you have done this a little sooner maybe?

However once the flashes stopped, I noticed everyone staring at me, even Terrador, but he still kept his distrusting glare, "I… I remember you," I said, more to myself than Terrador, "I… I rescued you from the Munitions Forge… you stopped me from going after Ignitus when Cynder captured him," I said, I could see Cynder uncomfortably look away a little when I said this, no doubt reliving some painful memories. "You always used to tell me you admired my strong will," I added.

Terrador's eyes widened upon hearing this, however he quickly forced them shut, "It can't be true! It just can't!" he said, I didn't know if I managed to get through to Terrador or not judging from that reaction. But I was glad he at least wasn't trying to kill me anymore.

Volteer walked over to his friend, "Cynder, I think it might be prudent to take Spyro somewhere else for a while, Terrador and I have… much to discuss it seems," he said, I wasn't going to argue, after **that** fiasco I kind of want to be as far away from Terrador as possible.

Cynder nodded and motioned for me to follow her out, to say my meeting with Terrador went badly would be an understatement, I honestly don't think that could have gone much worse short of Terrador **actually** managing to kill me. My ribs and horn still hurt like hell, just simply breathing was painful for me right now.

Once we got outside, Cynder stopped and turned to me, "Spyro I'm **so** sorry! I never should have left you alone in there! I never thought Terrador would react like that, it was so unlike him!" she said.

I groaned slightly from the pain I was in, "It's alright Cynder, but if it's all the same to you, can we maybe take a break from meeting with Guardians? Or… anyone that can feasibly injure me? Ow!" I winced.

Cynder sounded with a giggle, "Deal," she agreed. "I think I may know someone who won't be as capable of horrifically injuring you as Terrador is, but I'll warn you now, it's a bit of a walk, you up for it?" she asked me.

I thought about it, Terrador did some damage sure, but nothing that wouldn't heal with a little time, I think I could manage to walk, "Yeah, I think so," I said, I don't know who it was Cynder had in mind when suggesting who I meet next, but hopefully whoever they are doesn't have deadly earth powers… knock on wood.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is probably the one I've changed the least in terms of events, Terrador's reaction to Spyro was basically the same, although I think I made it play out a bit better here.**

 **This was also the first chapter in the original I did a perspective shift from Spyro to Cynder, I debated doing the same here, but ultimately decided it would be better if I kept the story fixed to Spyro's perspective, since it's _his_ story and all, and it adds a bit more mystery to the story.**

 **Cynder's conversation with Volteer was why I did the perspective shift in the original, so if you've read it, you probably already know what it was they discussed, I will reveal it in this version later, so don't you worry gentle reader.**

 **I also want to point out that the thesaurus feature in LibreOffice is quite helpful when writing the very wordy Volteer, I consider myself to have a pretty decent vocabulary, but not as good as our electric friend's so the extra help is quite appreciated.**


	8. The Importance of Family

**Chapter 7: The Importance of Family**

* * *

 _ **Swamplands, Dragon Realms, Early Noon….**_

* * *

Cynder began to lead me to a swam, claiming this was where my supposed brother Sparx lived. According to Cynder I used to live in this swamp with my dragonfly family. Yeah, the fact I was apparently raised by dragonflies of all things sounded almost too stupid to be real. I mean, I wasn't the biggest dragon in the world, barely bigger than a large dog if I were to ballpark it, but I was still significantly larger than the average dragonfly.

But then again, it wasn't too shocking, I was kinda known for being horrendously unobservant, I once had a zit about the size of a marble on my forehead and didn't even realize it until Zack happened to point it out one day. So it wasn't **too** unrealistic to believe I wouldn't question why I looked absolutely **nothing** like the rest of my family. But still, there was quite a significant difference between a dragon and a dragon **fly.**

The swamp itself had a strange familiarity to it, an almost nostalgic feeling, like revisiting your old house, I never thought in a million years I'd have starry eyed nostalgia for a **swamp** of all things, but well, life's funny like that I guess.

Then there was the matter of the dragonfly we were looking for, Sparx, my foster brother. Of course, this made me think of my human brother Shaun, we had a typical older younger sibling relationship, he used to drive me nuts, doing those typical younger sibling things, but despite that, I still loved the little snot to pieces, being just as sad to leave him behind as everyone else in my human life. I didn't know how my relationship with Sparx was before I sacrificed myself, but I hope it was as good as the one I had with Shaun.

Maybe I should ask Cynder, maybe she would know, besides, I wanted to be prepared for what I was about to deal with, "Cynder, what was Sparx like?" I asked my ebony companion.

Cynder sighed, "Well, he was annoying, never shut up, followed you everywhere like a mosquito," she said, I was getting the impression Cynder didn't care for Sparx, "We never really got along, I don't think he ever forgave me for my time as the Terror of the Skies," she explained, "He came close to warming up to me near the end of the war, even trusted me to look after you when he couldn't come with us through the Belt of Fire," she continued. Oh I don't think I like where this is going.

Cynder seemed almost reluctant to continue, as if she were about to dig up a very painful memory, "That changed when you died," she said, "He was devastated, and decided to take his anger out on me, he blamed me for what happened, called me a liar and a fraud, that he never wanted to see me again, I haven't seen him since," she told me, "I only know he's here because Hunter told me," she added.

Yeah, I called that one, it was weird he'd blame Cynder, but I guess her promising to look after me had something to do with that. But one thing didn't add up, "Why would Hunter tell you where he was if you never planned on finding him?" I asked.

Cynder blinked, as if not expecting me to ask, she tried to ignore the question, but I guess she realized I wanted to know as she began to growl slightly, "Because I was worried about him okay?!" She snapped, "I asked Hunter to check in on him about a year ago because I was worried losing you might have broken the little guy, just because he annoys me doesn't mean I don't care about him," she admitted.

Soon we both happened upon some kind of… glowing speck, it was just sort of floating there, there was something strangely familiar about it, I went to approach but Cynder stopped me, "Same deal as with Volteer, let me ease him into it okay?" she said.

Wait… that glowing speck was Sparx? I've seen plenty of dragonflies back in the human world, and I'm pretty sure **none** of them glowed! Is Sparx radioactive? Or was this just how they were in this world? Whatever the case, Cynder was already making her way to Sparx.

In a flash, Sparx buzzed over to her, "What are **you** doing here?!" he snarled, Cynder took a deep breath, this was a confrontation she'd probably been dreading having for a long time, something she'd been preparing herself for just as long.

"Look, I know you and I don't really see eye to eye," she began, trying her best not to be bothered by Sparx's anger.

However the dragonfly didn't let her finish, "After you killed my brother? Yeah, you could say that!" He said, his voice dripping with venom, it was clear he still hated her for what happened to me.

"That's why I'm here Sparx," She told him before turning to me, "It's okay, you can come out now," She told me.

I felt a bit less intimidated approaching Sparx, even if he did react as poorly as Terrador did, he was about an inch tall, what damage could he possibly do to me? However what I didn't expect was for him to suddenly fly up to my fast so fast he almost wound up in my mouth, I managed to move my head back in time before I wound up eating my foster brother.

"Oh man! Spyro?! Y… You're alive!" He said, excitedly buzzing around my head, now that he was closer, I could make out his features more clearly. He wasn't a normal looking dragonfly like I was expecting, he was more, for lack of a better term, anthropomorphic, with very human facial features and even arms with little hands. His entire body was a crisp gold color, matching the glow that inexplicably emanated from his body, save for his eyes, which were an icy blue. "Oh man! I can't believe it! You're alive! This is amazing! You don't know how much I missed you bro! Where have you been?!" He asked.

I sighed, "Thinking I was a human for the better part of three years apparently," I said dryly, it was only when I said it out loud did I realize how stupid it sounded, but it was what happened to me.

Sparx of course, was confused by this, he probably didn't even know what a human **was**. So Cynder decided to elaborate, "The Ancestors had him living as a human while they repaired his body," she clarified, "He doesn't have any memories though, that's something we've kind of been trying to work on," she said.

Sparx seemed a bit crestfallen when he heard I lost my memory. However he quickly regained his smile, "Bah… you never had much goin' on in there anyway," he said. What was **that** supposed to mean? Did he just call me stupid? Because **that's** how you treat your long lost brother you thought was dead for three years right? Cynder was right, he **was** kind of a little jerk. "I mean, who cares?! You're alive! W… wait here! I gotta tell mom and dad!" he said before vanishing into the swamp to fetch my foster parents.

I turned to Cynder, "Well he took that well," I commented. So far, aside from Terrador of course, most of the people from my past I've met have reacted quite well to my return, maybe I was overthinking it when I though people would be angry with me? I don't know, maybe I've just gotten lucky

Cynder nodded, "I think he's just happy to have you back," she said, before Sparx returned with two other glowing dragonflies, one a steel blue, the other a mix of pink and green.

I assumed these two were my foster parents, the father seemed shocked, the mother beginning to tear up, "See?" said Sparx, "Spyro's alive! Isn't it great?!" Sparx said, happily buzzing around my head again.

The father began to fly over to me, "Son, I can't even begin to describe how happy I am to see you're okay," he said.

The mother then flew up to me, gently placing her tiny hand on my nose, "We thought we lost you," she said, "But… here you are… safe… **alive** ," she said, the two dragonflies hugged the base of my snout, it was kind of a weird sensation having such tiny arms embrace me like this, but their hug still felt warm and loving regardless.

However, I couldn't remember them, just like anyone else, the very thought of it began to bring tears to my eyes, causing my foster parents to grow a bit concerned, "I… I'm sorry… it's just… I wish I could remember you guys..." I said.

The father smiled, "Now now son, chin up, it's okay, you may not remember us, but that's okay, just knowing that you're okay is more than enough for your mom and I," he said, "Besides, you'll get your memories back, you just need to have a little faith, and a little patience," he told me.

I then began to feel another headache coming on, flashes of my time with Sparx began to flash through my head before finally subsiding. You know, I was really beginning to hate these random memory flashes. They always came at the most random times! "Spyro?" asked my mother, "Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, referring to my little episode.

Cynder decided to explain, "It happens whenever he starts to remember something," she explained before turning to me, "What was it Spyro? What did you remember?" she asked.

I **could** tell them I was just remembering my days in the swamp with Sparx, but there was one memory in particular I found kind of funny, I gave Sparx a devious look, "A few things, but I'm pretty sure I saw a particular dragonfly being shoved into a lantern," I said.

Sparx's jaw practically hit the floor as everyone began to laugh, "Oh **come** on! Of all the memories you could have remembered, **that's** the one your brain goes with?!" he said, it wasn't one of Sparx's finest moments that was for sure, but still, it was refreshing to have a nice, funny memory to recall for once, instead of Cynder's horrible past or moment with a guardian that was currently convinced I was some evil twin or something.

After that we said goodbye to my foster parents, Sparx chose to tag along, though, I guess he really **did** miss me and wanted to make up for lost time. "You remembered more than the lantern thing, didn't you? You just wanted to embarrass me!" Sparx accused me.

I laughed, "Consider it payback for the "empty head" comment," I said, I couldn't resist triumphantly grinning as I followed Cynder out of the swamp. Soon the swamps gave way to a forest full of evergreens and pine trees.

In a strange sort of way, it kind of reminded me of the human world, maybe it was the pine trees, Maine had a **lot** of those, I began to feel a bit homesick again, I knew that I could never got back to that world, but still… a part of me still longed for what I had back there, the friends and family I left behind. Thinking about it, it was kind of unfair how abruptly I was torn from that world, I only got to say goodbye to Zack, and that was only because he just so happened to find me while I was talking with Ignitus.

Suddenly Sparx flew right in my path, "Spyro? You okay buddy? You look kinda glum," Sparx asked me, I almost didn't want to answer, knowing full well how happy Sparx was to have me back.

But I knew he probably wouldn't stop pestering me unless I answered him so, "I was just… thinking about my life in that other world is all, seeing the pine trees kinda reminded me of it," I explained, "I know it wasn't my real life… but a part of me still misses it," I added.

However, out of nowhere, "Spyro, I think it might be better for you if you got over that other world," said Cynder, "It can't be healthy for you to be missing a life you can't go back to," she added.

I was shocked by how frank she was about it, as if I were complaining about a busted headlight instead of what, until recently, I thought was my life! "Cynder, it's not that easy, you've gotta remember, for three years, that was my life," I tried to explain, thinking she just didn't understand.

However, she suddenly grew an annoyed look, "No it wasn't Spyro! This? Here? **This** is your life! Not that other world!" She snapped, what's gotten into her? It was almost like she was **offended** that I missed my old life as Jason.

I was beside myself, I felt angry, like she was scolding me for something that should be a very understandable problem, "Cynder I left an entire life behind in that world! Friends and family I'll never get to see again! Am I not allowed to be a little upset about that? It's not like I can go back there so what's the problem?" I said.

Cynder sighed, "I'm not saying you can't miss the friends you made there Spyro, I'm saying you need to stop killing yourself over a **fake** life," she corrected me.

That did it, something about the way she said that, the way she emphasized the word "fake" awoke a fury within me, "THAT WAS MY LIFE!" I snapped, "I had friends, a family I'll never get to see again! I didn't even get to say goodbye to my mom, my brother, real or fake they still mattered to me!" I said.

I then began to feel a strange sensation was over me, something dark beckoning me to let go, I felt myself unable to even attempt to calm down, this was so stupid, why was this angering me so much? I missed my human family sure, but Cynder was right, my life **was** here, but something in me refused to let me forgive her.

I then began to notice my scales were darkening, a strange, dark aura began to radiate off my body, as I felt my thoughts become clouded by anger and rage, Sparx instantly took notice, "Uh Cynder, I think you might wanna ease up a bit," he said.

Cynder however, "No! He **needs** to hear this! I'm not going to sit here and let him tear himself apart over a fake life!" she argued. She used that goddamn word **again**! They weren't fake! Those people were real to **me**! They were my world! Ignitus just took them all away and deleted me from that world like junk files off a hard drive! It wasn't right! It wasn't **fair**!

Who the hell does she think she is?! She didn't know them like **I** did! "They… weren't… FAKE!" I screamed as I tackled her to the ground, embedding her deep into the snow. "Take it back! Take it BACK!" I growled, I felt a horrible power overwhelm me, every attempt I made to calm myself down was rendered futile.

I wanted to rip her head off, hurt her, how could she say those things about my friends? My mom? Shaun? Zack? I just wanted my life back! I never asked to come back to this god forsaken world! "Spyro! Stop it! I know Cynder can be kind of a jerk sometimes, but you're better than this!" Sparx pleaded with me.

Cynder couldn't talk, she just kept squirming, I was crushing her throat with one of my paws as I pinned her, "NO! She didn't know them like I did! She doesn't care about my feelings! How much they meant to me! Just as long as she has her precious Spyro back, who gives a damn how torn up inside he is! Right?" I snarled.

Cynder looked downright hurt by that comment, "Sp… Spyro… it's not like that!… Please… stop!" she choked, her struggling was starting to weaken, the life slowly draining from her eyes as I choked the life out of her. She looked so helpless, so afraid… afraid of **me…** oh god… what am I doing?! I'm… I'm **killing** her! Oh god! I'm **killing** her! Anger quickly faded into horror as I realized what I was doing to someone who was supposed to be my friend!

I felt the dark energy begin to fade from my body, my scales began to regain their purple color, I quickly got off Cynder, horrified at what I had just done to her, she wasn't moving, oh god she wasn't moving! I quickly rushed to her side, "Cynder? CYNDER?! Oh god oh god… what have I done?! Cynder please wake up! I didn't mean it!" I said, tears began to run down my face as I frantically tried to wake her up, it was such a stupid thing to get mad at her for, if she died I would never forgive myself! Come on Cynder! Please don't die! Not like this! Please!

"S...Spyro?"

Cynder began to stir, relief began to wash over me as the black dragoness began to come to, "Spyro? Are you okay?" she asked me, am **I** okay?! What about you?! I almost **killed** you!

"Cynder I'm so sorry! I… I don't know what came over me!" I stammered, "I… I couldn't stop myself! I… I was so angry! I almost **killed** you!" I continued, I was downright hysterical, unable to get a grip on my panicked psyche.

However, Cynder stopped me, "Spyro! It's okay, **I'm** okay!" she said, "It's **you** I'm worried about," she said, I was so lost right now, I almost kill her, and **she's** concerned about **my** well being? It took a moment for Cynder to realized how confused I was, "I probably should have warned you before about this," she told me. Warn me? Warn me about **what**? That I might go psycho killer on my best friend?! "It happened during the Eternal Night, you were fighting an ape named Gaul, during the fight you got knocked into the Well of Souls, something… happened in there… I think your power must have mixed with energies inside it, ever since then… when you're under extreme emotional stress, you turn into that darker you," she explained. "I should have known better than to trigger it," she said.

That must have been what that dark energy I felt was, there was so much about myself I didn't know, what other horrible dark powers are hidden deep within my body? I found myself afraid of myself, my **own** power! I almost killed Cynder because I couldn't control my emotions, I don't know if my lack of memory made it easier to trigger or if Cynder's words just got to me **that** much. But this darkness within me terrified me. It felt like I was sitting on a bomb, just waiting to go off any second.

Cynder began to notice how scared I was getting, as she began to nuzzle me, "Spyro relax, it's okay, I shouldn't have pushed you like that, I was being stupid… fake or not, they _were_ your friends and family, I should have been more understanding," she said, "But, my point still stands, you can't keep tormenting yourself over what was, it's not healthy," she said, "I just want to make sure that purple head of yours stays firmly on your shoulders," she added.

I felt like there was more to it than that, but after what had happened I didn't dare try to pry. I was just thankful I hadn't killed her. Despite my lack of memory, Cynder was pretty important to me, and the very thought of losing her terrified me.

Cynder and I both agreed to forget what had just happened, neither of us really too proud of our actions back there, we began to head back towards the city, I still couldn't get over how quickly that whole thing got out of hand, thank god I was able to stop myself before things went from bad to tragic. I'd have to remember to be more careful and control my emotions from this point on.

After a bit of walking, we soon came up to some kind of river, flowing rapidly in spite of the winter weather. It was too big to jump across, and I wasn't about to try to swim in ice cold rapids. "How are we going to get across **this**?" I asked.

Cynder looked around, trying to see if she could find a viable means of crossing. "Why don't we just fly over it?" Sparx asked.

I looked at my wings, lightly flapping them, I never really thought about it until now, but since I was a dragon now, that meant I could fly, I think every human has dreamed of soaring through the air like Superman at least once in their lives. Why **wouldn't** I want to learn to fly?

Cynder approached me, "You think you're up for it?" she asked me. I wasn't really, I didn't exactly know how flying worked for dragons, I remembered my attempts to use my breath elements weren't as simple as I thought they'd be, and was fearful flight might work off the same principal. Cynder picked up on my uncertainty instantly, "Flying isn't too hard Spyro, you just need to close your eyes, and focus on taking flight," she instructed me, she walked over to the edge of the river and began to demonstrate.

She spread her wings wide, eyes closed, before her wings began to flap repeatedly, it wasn't long before her body began to lift off the ground, and she propelled herself forward. She easily soared over the river, landing softly on the other side. "See? It's easy, now you try," she called to me from the other side.

I timidly began to approach the edge, looking down and the rapidly flowing water, my own reflection staring back at me. If I screwed up here, no no! Must stay positive! Focus Spyro, you've got this. "Come on purple boy! While we're young!" Sparx said, you're **not** helping Sparx!

I closed my eyes, trying to focus my mind on flying, I felt my wings begin to flap, almost automatically, an unconscious motion just as simple as breathing. I felt my body begin to rise from the ground, "There you go! You're getting it!" Cynder cheered me on.

I opened my eyes to see myself hovering over the river, "I'm doing it! Oh my god! I'm **flying**!" I said, excited like a child on Christmas day, I could **fly!** I began to move myself forward, just a little further and I'd be on the other side with Sparx and Cynder! However, out of nowhere, I somehow lost momentum, I don't know if I flapped wrong or what but something caused me to instantly lose control, spiraling down into the river like a shot down fighter jet.

I hit the ice cold water, sending a rush of cold throughout my body, the current began to spin me around and drag me away, I struggled to right myself, I needed to surface before I wound up drowning! How fitting would it be if this was how I died? Alas, poor Spyro, he died as he lived, being a total klutz. However, my Darwin Award would have to wait as I somehow managed to surface myself, taking a huge gasp of air. However the current was dragging me away, I couldn't see Cynder or Sparx, but I could hear Cynder calling my name in the distance.

I remembered in summer camp once we were told that if we ever found ourselves caught in a strong river current like this, the best course of action is to just let the tide carry you, as fighting against it would only result in you drowning. But I had no clue what awaited me at the other end of this river, oh god if it's a water fall I'm screwed!

I needed to get out of this river, this water was unbearably cold, this wasn't exactly ideal swimming weather after all, meaning if I didn't get out of this river soon, my body temperature was going to drop dangerously low. I began to look around for anything I could use to stop myself, a loose plant root, a tree branch, anything I could grab onto!

However I did end up finding something alright, a very **hard** something, the current dragged me face first into a bolder, my head cracked against it, sending a shock wave of pain throughout my skull, however I was able to latch myself onto it with my claws. It took a minute for me to get over the hard blow to the head, but once I managed to shake the cobwebs I began to slowly drag myself along the bolder, using it's jutting edges to grip onto.

Eventually I managed to get myself to the edge, digging my claws into the snow, I began to slowly pull myself out of the river, rolling onto my back and taking a moment to catch my breath after I was safely on solid ground. I don't think that flying attempt could have gone much worse. The worst part was I had no idea what even happened back there, I just suddenly lost control of myself and fell into the water like a rock.

Yeah, I think it's going to be a while before I attempt to fly again, god I don't even want to **think** of how far that current dragged me. I just hoped that if I stayed put long enough Cynder and Sparx would find me eventually.

However, I then heard the sound of an arrow being fired from a bow, followed by what I **think** was the squeal of a dying rabbit. Confused, I slowly got to my feet, my body was still quite wet from the river, which did **not** mix well with the cold winter air. One could argue following the sounds of someone firing a bow was a stupid idea, but quite frankly, I'd rather not be stuck **alone** in the forest, sopping wet and trudging through cold snow.

I almost forgot how intimidating this world could be when I was alone, I'd gotten so used to having Cynder with me that being by myself again, I felt a bit helpless, exposed. If something attacked me I'd be done for, I was never much of a fighter as a human, and I was still getting used to my new anatomy, so I was pretty much easy pickings for any predator out here that decided that dragon meat sounded delicious today.

Just then I felt something strike my back, knocking me over, I tried to get up only to be met with a sharp arrow head pointed right between my eyes! "Look man! Don't kill me! I… I was just passing through!" I began to plead, hoping against all hope whoever currently had me pinned wouldn't decide to put a nice soft arrow through my skull.

But then, "Spyro?" I opened my eyes to be met with the visage of another one of those cheetah people, his fur was a gold color, dotted with black spots, his eyes were a cold blue, he wore a similar cape thing as Karius, only his was a pale red color with gold trim and a hood, a yin yang buckle holding it in place. He wore a copper colored tunic, red arm and leg guards, and had a quiver strapped to his back with several arrows stored inside it. He currently held a bow in his hands, with an arrow pointed right at me, but he wasn't drawing it back anymore, telling me was wasn't going to fire it at me.

His face was that of disbelief, "I… is that really you? I... I thought you were dead?" he said, wait… was this someone I knew? Come to think of it, there was a sense of familiarity about him, he removed the arrow from the string, placing it back in it's quiver before getting off me, allowing me to get up. "This… this can't be real… I must be seeing things," He said to himself, seemingly unable to comprehend that I was somehow still alive.

I didn't really know how to approach this, if I sent this guy into a rage he'd probably end up turning me into a purple pin cushion! However, I wouldn't have to say a word as the cheetah knelt himself down in front of me, tepidly reaching his hand to touch my forehead, I felt the paw pads of his hand rub slightly against my rough scales. "Y… you **are** real!" said the cheetah, "Y… You're alive!" he added.

He then removed his hand from my forehead, it was becoming quite clear that this was indeed someone I knew, the odds of me finding another lost friend after my little trip down the river were astronomical at best, but well… here it is! Suddenly the cheetah embraced me, "It's good to see you again old friend! Everyone thought you were dead, but somehow, I always had my doubts," He said.

He was kind of irritating some of my injuries from my encounter with Terrador, but I was just glad he wasn't flying into a homicidal rage like the old earth guardian had. He then released me, "What are you doing out here?… and… why are you **wet**?" he asked, noticing his tunic was now wet from that little hug of his.

I felt my cheeks go red from embarrassment, do I tell him? I mean, it wasn't exactly one of my **finest** moments, "I kinda… maybe… crashed into a river trying to fly," I admitted, knowing full well how incredibly incompetent the whole ordeal made me look.

The cheetah laughed a little, "The winds get the better of you friend?" he asked me, I wasn't sure if **that** was what happened, I kinda wanted to say it was, if anything just to convince myself I'm not a hopelessly clumsy oaf.

However, suddenly I heard a faint voice call my name, soon Cynder and Sparx arrived on the scene, "There you are!" Cynder said, quickly nuzzling me, "I thought we lost you!" she said before suddenly noticing the cheetah standing right there, "Hunter? What are you doing here?" she asked, revealing this cheetah to be Hunter, the one she mentioned she sent to check on Sparx while I was "dead".

"Good to see you too Cynder," he said dryly, "As for what I'm doing here, I was out hunting when I happened upon Spyro here, from the sounds of things, you seem to already know of his return," he explained.

Cynder nodded, "Yeah, we met in the cemetery," she said, "He lost his memory though, which is why he's apparently not as good a flier as he used to be," she said, giving me an annoyed look. Oh come on! I've only been a dragon again for… what? A day and a half? Cut me some slack! "I'm glad he at least managed to find a friendly face out here," she added.

Hunter nodded, "Indeed, these woods can be quite dangerous, especially to someone who apparently has lost his memory," he said, "Do you think he'll recover them? His memories I mean?" Hunter then asked Cynder.

Cynder nodded, "He's been having brief flashes from time to time, but they seem to happen at random, and even then, they only give him a few tiny bits at a time," she explained.

Hunter shot me a small smile, "Well, I'm certain you'll get them back old friend, the realms haven't been the same without you," he said, "As much as I would love to catch up, Chief Prowlus is expecting me to return with food for the village, and I don't wish to keep my people waiting, food is difficult to come by during the winter months and I'm hoping to get it done before sundown," he said. "Good luck with your memories Spyro, I'll see you around," he said before taking his leave.

Another friend successfully reconnected with, I was on a roll here! However, "That leaves just one more person we need to meet up with," said Cynder, "Cyril," she added. I was still a bit reluctant to meet up with another guardian after how poorly the last one I met with went. But I knew I would have to confront this Cyril guy eventually, "Come on Spyro, let's go… and try not to fall into any more rivers," she said half jokingly.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" I asked, Cynder just giggled, as we both made our way back to the city, ready to encounter the last friend I needed to reconnect with… hopefully he'll be as welcoming as the others…

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, all there's left for Spyro to reunite with is the Ice Guardian Cyril, what could _possibly_ go wrong?**


	9. Murphy's Law

**Chapter 8: Murphy's Law**

* * *

Cynder lead me back to the city, which she **finally** told me the name of, Warfang, kind of an odd name for a city, it sounded like something Thor would hang out in. But weird names of cities aside, I was more focused on preparing myself mentally for my meeting with Cyril. I don't know why, but this one seemed to worry me the most, I don't know if I was just dreading getting attacked by another Guardian or if my buried subconscious memories were trying to warn me of something, but I knew running from it wasn't going to do me any good, I just had to do it and get it over with, like ripping off a band aid.

Once we arrived at the gate, the same two guards from before stood there, and of course, they were still pissed I was purple, "Still haven't washed that paint off yet?" the blue one asked.

Cynder looked to me, eyebrow raised, "Paint?" she asked me, I never **did** tell her about this did I? I guess with all the insanity happening to me lately it just sort of slipped my mind.

"They think I painted myself purple," I whispered to her, Cynder seemed even more confused by this, mouthing " _what?_ " at me upon hearing this.

The red one snorted, "How long are you planning on keeping this joke going you little brat?" he asked before turning to Cynder, "And how did I know **you** would be involved Terror of the Skies? I always knew you were trouble," he said.

Well that was needlessly hostile! However Cynder didn't show any signs of being bothered by that comment. "Just open the gate Flarus," she said dryly, apparently she knew this guy, or at the very least his name.

Flarus rolled his eyes, "If I live to see a thousand years I'll never understand why The Guardians were so quick to forgive you," he said before opening the gate. Cynder and I both walked on through without another word. I was still kind of put off by how rude that guard was being, shoving Cynder's past in her face like that, it wasn't right!

As soon as we were a good distance away I decided to say something, "What was up with **that** guy? He start his morning with a bowl of crabby flakes?" I said, trying to make light of it.

However Cynder just glared at me, "I don't want to talk about it Spyro, just drop it," she said flatly. O...okay? "Come on, we need to find Cyril," she said, not even waiting for a response before continuing on her way.

Sparx flew up next to me, "Sheesh, that was kinda cold, even for **her** ," he commented. No kidding, Cynder had mentioned the city didn't have the best opinion of her, but still… I kinda felt like that guard was needlessly hostile, and Cynder herself didn't seem to want to let me help her for some reason.

I followed Cynder through the snowy streets, there was an awkward silence between us, me too worried about upsetting her to even attempt to strike a conversation. But the silence didn't last long, as we soon heard yelling in the distance.

It was only when we drew closer could I make it out, "I don't care if it's raining fire from the sky! We need these new homes built! We have too many refugees living out on the streets already!" I recognized the voice as belonging to the blue dragon from my nightmare. But now that it wasn't speaking in a monotone, I could tell the dragon seemed to be… for lack of a better term… kinda snobbish, like the stereotypical spoiled rich guy in any given cartoon.

I looked to see the blue dragon overseeing a bunch of moles trying to build some kind of house our building, "But sir," one of the moles whined, "The snow's not letting up, and it's getting hard to work when it's covering everything we're building!" he continued.

But the blue dragon was having none of it, "Snow melts! It'll be fine! Now hurry up! We've got several more buildings that need constructing!" he barked at the poor moles. I felt my anxiety begin to pick up, seeing how he was treating the moles, well, it didn't bode well for me, he wasn't being malicious or anything, but more… overly bossy. How someone like that would react to learning one of their friends had been alive the whole time they thought said friend was dead I didn't know.

"Is that Cyril?" I asked, pointing to the blue dragon, I had a feeling it was, Terrador and Volteer had both been in that nightmare, so it stood to chance that the blue dragon from that nightmare had to be Cyril.

Cynder seemed surprised by this, "H… How did you know?" she asked me.

"Well, we've met almost everyone that had been in my nightmare," I began to explain, "And since Cyril is the only one left for me to meet, I figured he wouldn't have been in that nightmare if he weren't important right?" I said, I was kind of proud of myself, it was almost like remembering something. Sure it was basic process of elimination, but shut up! Let me have this one!

Cynder went to do her usual thing, but Sparx suddenly zipped right by her, "Hey ice butt! Long time no see huh?" Sparx greeted Cyril. Cynder groaned before rejoining my side.

Cyril also groaned upon seeing the little dragonfly, "Sparx, and here I thought I was finally rid of your incisive prattle when you left for the swamps," he said, "What do you want you pest?" he spat.

Sparx however, didn't seem even the least bit bothered by Cyril's annoyance, "Yeah well, I figured without Spyro around, there wasn't much reason for me to hang around ya know?" he said, "But well, things kinda changed," he said.

Cyril raised an eyebrow, "Changed how?" he asked.

Sparx pointed in my direction, "See for yourself frosty!" he said before leading a very reluctant Cyril in my direction.

I just stood there, waiting for the blue dragon to approach, the second he saw me his jaw practically hit the floor. I did a little awkward wave with my front left paw, you'd think I'd get used to reintroducing myself to my old friends by now, but then again, I always was kind of socially awkward, why do you think Zack was my only close friend back in the human world?

However, my blood ran cold when I saw his face contort into pure rage, oh god… not again! I instinctively hid behind Cynder as Cyril stormed up to me, soon he was right in front of me, lips furled, showing his sharp fangs, a loud growl rumbling from his throat. "ALL THIS TIME?!" he suddenly screamed, "You've been alive all this time and never thought once to come put our minds at ease?!" he began to berate me.

I felt my legs begin to shake, my heart thumping loudly in my chest, "I… I… uh," I fumbled, but try as I might, I couldn't quite find the words, considering there **were** any that could help me out in this situation.

However it's just as well, since Cyril suddenly grabbed my snout in his claws, forcing me to be silent, "I have no interest in your excuses!" He snarled, "How dare you… how dare you come back **now**! After all you put me and my friends through!" he growled.

Cyril released his grip on my maw, shoving me to the ground in the process, "I… I'm sorry!" I said almost out of instinct, I should have figured **someone** would react this way eventually, but seeing it coming did little to make it any more pleasant. It was like reliving that nightmare all over again, having someone I subconsciously remembered berating me, it stung just as badly here as it did then.

My apology did little more than fan the flames of Cyril's anger, "OH! You're "sorry" are you?!" He screamed, "Sorry doesn't fix the pain you caused! Sorry doesn't change the fact I had to watch helplessly as my dearest friends suffered and grieved while you were bumbling about under our noses! Is Ignitus alive too?! Or is it just you?!" he roared.

I could tell him he was right about Ignitus, but that would only serve to make him even **angrier**. His yelling had caught the attention of everyone in town, a crowd was beginning to form, surrounding us, making this verbal assault **that** much worse. All I could do was lay there on the ground, helpless, pathetic, as Cyril continued to shove my guilt in my face. The worst part was that Cyril was completely right, I **did** make them suffer, I **couldn't** undo the three years of heartache I put my friends through.

However Cynder still felt differently, stepping between me and Cyril, "That's enough!" she barked, "It's not his fault Cyril! He didn't chose to be put in a human body for three years! He didn't chose to be thrown back into this life with no memory at all!" She berated Cyril.

But Cyril didn't care, "I'm surprised **you** of all people are so quick to forgive him Cynder! Considering how deep of a depression you fell into after he "died"! You of all people should understand why we can't forgive him for what he's done!" he snapped back before turning his hateful gaze on me, "And what say you huh? Come on! Tell me I'm wrong you ungrateful brat! Tell me why I should even consider forgiving you for toying with my friends emotions for nearly three years!" He roared.

I… I couldn't… he was right, I had always feared I wasn't doing the right thing by trying to crowbar myself back into this world, and now Cyril was confirming it. I didn't deserve to have this life again! I hurt them! I made them **suffer**! While I was busy playing human, reading comics and playing video games, these people were grieving, shedding tears, wondering why I had to die! It didn't matter that I had no memory, it didn't matter that I had no choice, that didn't change the fact that they hurt, it didn't change the fact that Cyril had to watch his dearest friends go through hell, while probably trying to come to terms with his own grief.

I was worthless, a selfish little punk who thought he could just insert himself back into a life he abandoned for three years without causing these good people more pain! What was I doing?! How can I be so selfish?! I couldn't even will myself to look Cyril in the eyes, too overwhelmed by my own guilt to even attempt to defend myself. So I did what I've **always** done, I ran away.

I ran away like a **coward** , "SPYRO! WAIT!" I heard Cynder call to me, but I wasn't going to stop, I didn't want to be here anymore! I didn't **deserve** to be here anymore! This world was better off without me to screw everything up! I just kept running, stopping for nothing, bolting through the gates of Warfang, blubbering like a baby the whole way. Just this simpering, pathetic, sad excuse for a dragon.

I just kept running, deeper and deeper into the forest until I was as far away from Warfang as I could get. I can't do this anymore! I can't **hurt them** anymore! These were good people, they deserved better than to have me toying with their feelings, I can't do this! I CAN'T!

"IGNITUS!" I screamed as loud as I could muster, I knew what I was going to do, I was going to ask Ignitus to send me back to the Human Realms, where I couldn't hurt these people ever again! I never asked to come to this goddamn world! I wanted my life back! I was sick of hurting these people, sick of not understanding the world that surrounded me!

They always act like being sent to a fantasy world is fun and whimsical in movies and books, but those people always had the choice to leave, I **didn't. A** t least Alice got to go home after her adventure in Wonderland, at least the Pevinsies could just walk back out of the Wardrobe when Narnia got to be too much for them! At least Harry Potter got to go back to the Muggle world after his semester in Hogwarts was over! Me? I was **stuck** in this goddamn place, trapped in a life I had no memory of, stuck with the guilt of knowing that I put these good people through hell an I could **never** make it up to them!

I was done with this place! Done hurting these people, done fumbling around in a world I knew nothing about! A few moments of silence passed, so I prepared to call for him again, however before I could, I felt a paw on my back.

I turned to see Ignitus standing over me, "Spyro? What's wrong? Talk to me," he said. I took a few moment to shed my tears, I felt like the biggest asshole in the universe right now, this worthless piece of garbage who just tried to force his way back into the lives of those who had spent the past three years mourning me.

Eventually though, I managed to speak, "I want to go back, I don't want to be here anymore Ignitus! I can't do this to them! It's not fair! It's not **right**!" I said, the guilt was beginning to drive me insane, all the pain I caused them ravaging my already pretty damaged psyche. I was at my breaking point, teetering on the edge of insanity.

"Spyro I can't do that," said Ignitus, like **hell** you can't! You're The Chronicler! You can do anything! Can he? He brought me here! He should be able to bring me back! "Spyro if I left you in that world any longer I would have risked destroying it's entire timeline! Time is a very delicate thing, you can't trifle with it too much or you risk it's destruction, that world was never meant to interact with our own, your mere presence there would put everyone in it at risk, I can't do that to them, you know I can't," he explained.

He was right of course, but that didn't change the horrible guilt I felt right now, "What am I supposed to do Ignitus? I can't do this to them anymore… I hurt them Ignitus… I made them suffer… how can I just come back out of the blue? I don't deserve to be here! Not after what I put them through! Please help me Ignitus! I don't know what to do!" I asked, tears flowing from my eyes like waterfalls.

Ignitus brought me in closer, stroking the back of my head, "There there Spyro, it's alright, I warned you that some wouldn't take your return well," he said, "But do not think for a moment you don't deserve to be here! None of this was your doing, you would **never** hurt your friends Spyro, not willingly, your gentle heart would never allow it," he said, "You've been through so much these past few days, it pains me to see you suffering like this, but fate can be unfair sometimes young dragon, it is onto us to make the best of these terrible situations we find ourselves in," he explained.

Ignitus loosened his embrace, gently grabbing my chin in his claws, making me look him in the eyes, "You're a good dragon Spyro, gentle and caring, the very fact you feel this guilt so strongly proves just how deeply you care for your friends, even if you have no memory of them, the love you feel for them never left you," he explained.

I wanted to believe him, I **really** did, but still, "All those things Cyril said, it was as if all the guilt I felt was being shoved in my face all at once, every word he said were words I've told myself so many times before, I just… I couldn't take it anymore," I explained.

Ignitus sighed, "You mustn't take Cyril's words to heart Spyro, he, like you, is suffering from his own sorrows, dealing with his own grief," he said, "He just chose to take them out on you, I don't believe for a second he hates you even a little bit, he's just… dealing with his pain in his own way," he explained.

Ignitus was doing his damn best to try to help me, but all of these horrible emotions were just raging in my head, I couldn't handle it all, this whole thing has been just one big nightmare I kept praying to god I'd wake up from, but never did. I just wanted everything to stop, to wake up in my bed with everything back to the way it was before. Where I was just a simple human nobody just trying to survive high school, but the reality was that I was stuck here whether I liked it or not. Forced into a life I never knew about or even **asked** to return to, powerless, afraid. I just wanted my life to make sense again!

I felt trapped, helpless, like my entire world was crashing down on me, like the world was just amusing itself by tormenting me, "I just want it all to stop Ignitus… I just want my life to make sense again!" I said.

Ignitus continued to stroke my head, trying to comfort the broken dragon he currently held in his arms, "I know Spyro, and I would love nothing more than to give that to you, but some things are beyond even The Chronicler's power," he said. "But you shouldn't hurt yourself like this, you are wrong to think no one here has forgiven you for your absence young dragon," He said.

As if to prove his point, I heard a voice calling for me in the distance, "Wh… what's that?" I asked. Looking around at the surrounding forest, as if expecting the answer to pop out from the underbrush.

Ignitus smiled, "Someone who still believes in you Spyro," he said, "You may not think yourself worthy of regaining what you've lost here, but **she** does, go to her Spyro, she's waiting for you," he said before releasing me.

I stood there for an awkward moment or two, but chose to listen to Ignitus and followed the voice, after a bit of walking, I finally saw her, Cynder. She was looking for me along with Sparx, they would alternate calling my name, Ignitus was right, Cyril may not have forgiven me, but **they** did. Cynder and Sparx were so happy to have me back, how selfish would I be if I took that away from them just because things became too hard? I already abandoned them once, I couldn't do that again.

I stepped out from the bushes, Cynder and Sparx spotted me instantly, Cynder rushing over to me, nuzzling me, "There you are! Don't listen to Cyril Spyro! You didn't do anything wrong!" she told me.

Sparx flew up next to me, "Yeah, old ice butt is just being a grumpy old man, he'll get over it," he reassured me.

I found myself tearing up again, having these two in my corner meant so much more to me than I thought, having friends to help me through it all, "Thanks guys… for everything… I… I'm sorry I freaked out, I just couldn't deal with it all, I got overwhelmed," I tried to explain.

Cynder nodded, "It's okay, you've been dealing with a lot lately, anyone would have done the same in your position," she said. "Hell, Sparx had practically made a career out of it," she added, trying to get a laugh out of me.

Sparx however, "Hey! I don't run away! Usually… more than once..." He said, maybe it was just me being in desperate need of some joy, or that I was such an emotional wreck right now that anything seemed funny to me at this point, but I just couldn't stop myself from laughing, it felt good, liberating even, to be able to laugh for once instead of feel sorry for myself.

Everything I've dealt with these past few days, all the trauma, heartache, confusion, it all seemed to just vanish with a simple joke at Sparx's expense. I should probably feel bad about that, but right now, I just wanted to let myself have this one moment of levity. This much needed chance to just be happy for once.

Cynder smiled, "Come on, I think you've had enough excitement for one day," she said, she was absolutely right, I've had more than enough of this trauma, this needless heartache, I could use some downtime, some time to simply collect myself, compartmentalize myself.

So I left the forest with my friends as the sun began to set on a day full of chaos, sadness, and several injuries. However, I was arguably in a far better place than I was at the end of yesterday, where I was basically lost and confused in a homeless shelter, now I had two friends to be lost and confused with. I'd call that a win, I don't know about you.

And with this whole dragon realm thing, you kinda had to take any win you could get… I just hoped tomorrow would be better…

* * *

 **A/N: What's this? Two chapters in one day? Foowd you madman! Hey, what else is there for me to do on a lazy Sunday? Pfft!**


	10. Malefor

**Chapter 9: Malefor**

* * *

The walk back to Warfang was an awkward one to say the least, I was still reeling from Cyril's outburst, despite Sparx and Cynder telling me over and over that he was just lashing out and that he'd come around eventually.

So for those keeping score, I was two for six in royally peeving my old friends, not a bad score for someone who's been thought dead for three years mind you, but still, that number shifted heavily in the other direction once you took the angry randoms that have also accused me of abandoning them into account.

But those two also still stung, it was as if they were the only ones having the **right** reaction as far as my mind was concerned, I mean, I appreciated that Cynder and Sparx were willing to forgive me and all, but Cynder still decked me when we first reunited, so that actually made me **three** for six in royally pissing off my old friends. I was kinda under the impression the only reason she forgave me was because I happened to lose my memory.

I've been second guessing myself a lot since Cyril's outburst, wondering who was really right about me, I mean, Cynder had a point, I had no control over what had happened, but Cyril was right as well when he said that didn't change the pain they had to go through during my absence.

Maybe when we get a moment alone, I can pick Cynder's brain, figure out why she was so quick to forgive me? Maybe hearing her explain would help me deal with Cyril's words a bit better? A second opinion can do a lot to put someone's words into perspective. Speaking of, "Cynder? Where **are** we going anyway?" I asked her.

She stopped and turned to face me, "We're going to my place for the night," she said, perfect, once we got to her place I could ask her my questions, figure things out.

We soon arrived at this rather small looking building, I guess you could consider it the Dragon Realm equivalent of a small apartment. The door swayed open revealing a very simple looking home, there was a small table in the center, several pillows strewn out in front of a small fire place, and bizarrely what appeared to be some kind of drinking trough, like the ones **pigs** would drink from. Why would Cynder **have** that?

"I know it's not much to look at," she said, "But it's home, make yourselves comfortable," she said, I found myself trudging over to one of the many pillows laid on the floor, hoisting myself upon it, the soft pillow felt so nice against my still aching body.

I almost wanted to fall asleep right there, but I had things to get off my chest first, "Cynder," I called, patting the pillow next to me to signal I wanted her to lay next to me.

She was confused, but did as I wanted her to, plopping herself on the pillow next to me, "What's up?" she asked me.

Okay Spyro, approach this carefully now, don't want to offend her, "I've been thinking a lot lately," I said, so far so good, "Remember when Cyril mentioned he was surprised you were so quick to forgive me?" I said, yes, good, nice and easy, "Why **did** you forgive me so quickly? I mean, it can't just be that I have no memory and you happened to feel bad for me right?" I said, and you came off a bit too strong Spyro, good job.

Cynder sighed, "Yeah, I did," she said, she seemed reluctant to go into any further detail though, as if not wanting to tell me. But, eventually, "I'm not going to lie to you Spyro, if you hadn't revealed your lack of memory, I probably **would** have reacted the same way Cyril did, I spent three years grieving, three years wishing it were me instead of you, and to see you standing right there like nothing had happened, I was so angry, I felt betrayed! That's why I kinda punched you, I was so angry you left without coming once just to let us know you were okay, so angry you would leave us to suffer," she continued.

I blinked, "What changed?" I asked her simply.

Cynder's eyes began to water, "Like I said, you revealed you didn't remember anything, I still wanted to be angry with you, I had gone through three years of hell only to have you just show up out of nowhere, I had every right to hate you just for that, but… when I saw how afraid you were, so lost and confused, I just couldn't… part of me **still** wants to hate you for what you put me through, but part of me also remembers I used to **be** that lost, confused, afraid little dragon, riddled with guilt over something they had no control over," She explained.

"Cyril doesn't understand what that's like, having something you had no control over hanging around your neck like a noose, I remember back when you first brought me to the temple after saving me, he was the one who insisted I be kicked out, unwilling to forgive me for what I'd done, Ignitus insisted I be allowed to stay, and Terrador agreed with him, trusting his judgment," she said, "Volteer? He spent so long debating the pros and cons of letting me stay that Cyril eventually just gave in and accepted me into the temple," she said with a small laugh.

However, she then turned back to me, "Spyro, I know you think what you did was wrong, and arguably, it was, but I know I'm doing the right thing by forgiving you, as hard as it was, I knew you would have done the same for me if our roles were reversed," she said, "Besides… I'm just glad that you're back, why should it be more complicated than that?" She asked me.

Cynder explanation was a lot to take in, part of me was kinda disheartened to hear a part of her still hated me. But she seemed to have repressed it for my sake, understanding that I had no control over it. A very "reals over feels" conclusion to come to, I guess that was just the kind of dragon Cynder was, rational, if not a bit headstrong. However, I had one more thing I wanted to ask, "Cynder, what was it Volteer wanted to talk to you about before Terrador attacked me?" I asked her.

Cynder sighed, "Ironically, it was the same as the reason Terrador attacked you, Volteer didn't want to say it in front of you, but he was worried you weren't the real Spyro, and was… trying to prepare me in case it turned out to be true," she explained. "I… I lashed out at him, you **had** to be real, I just… I kept thinking about those days I spent mourning you, and it made me angry again, and poor Volteer wound up being on the wrong end of it," she continued, "I know I probably should have considered the possibility, no offense, but your story **was** a bit far fetched, but I didn't **want** to consider it, I just wanted things to be how they were before, just you, me, Sparx, and The Guardians as one, big, happy family," she said.

The fact Volteer suspected me of being a fake kinda upset me a little, I wanted to believe at least **one** Guardian believed in me, but then again, he still felt the need to not mention it in front of me, so there was at least **some** faith in me still there. "Do you think I'm not the real Spyro?" I asked her. "I mean, despite everything that's happened… I still have a hard time believing I'm Spyro myself," I explained.

Cynder shook her head, "I know you're him, I can still see the Spyro I knew in you, maybe a little more subdued, maybe you're not as brave as you used to be, but he's **still** there," she said, placing her paw on mine for some reason, was this the dragon equivalent of holding hands?

She quickly noticed and hastily removed it from mine, "A… anyway," she stammered, I could swear her cheeks were slightly redder than usual. "You have any other questions?" She said, smiling nervously, yeah I think I have one, but I can tell you wouldn't want to answer it.

I decided to throw her a bone, I owed her that much at least, "What about Sparx? Why do you think **he** forgave me? I mean, from what you said, he didn't exactly take my death well," I asked, seeing that Sparx had passed out on the table, I guess today's adventure took more out of the little guy than I thought it had.

Cynder shook her head, "Who knows," she said, "My personal opinion? He's just happy that you're back for him to annoy, Sparx isn't exactly a complicated dragonfly," she said. I expected there to me more to it than that, but from what I've seen of him, it was believable enough.

However, "Spyro, you need to stop letting what happened hang over your head like this," she said, "What's done is done, we can't change the past, **I** of all people know that better than most," she told me, "I forgave you despite having every reason not to, don't you think you should afford yourself the same luxury?" she asked me.

I doubted it would be quite **that** easy, but a part of me knew she was right, I couldn't keep beating myself up over something I had no control over like this, it wasn't healthy, if Cynder could find it in herself to forgive me, why couldn't I do the same? It was hard, **very** hard, one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I finally decided to forgive myself, what's done is done, I can't undo the three years of hell I put my friends through, all I could do was try my hardest to be better, to work towards a brighter tomorrow, even if there were still those who were unwilling to forgive me, I still had to at least try.

I felt tears begin to form as I felt the weight lift from my shoulders for the first time since coming back to this world, no longer burdened by my own self destructive guilt, "Feel better now?" Cynder asked me.

With tears in my eyes, I nodded, I felt better, much better, part of me still felt bad for what I'd done, but I knew that would probably never go away, but Cynder was right, if I didn't forgive myself I was only going to keep hurting myself more, and I've had more than enough of **that** today.

Cynder lowered her head, "I think it's time we got some sleep, we've both had quite the day today," she said, I couldn't agree more, today was quite a rough one, granted, it went a **bit** better than I thought it would, but it was still a trying experience to say the least. However at least the worst parts of returning to my life here were over and done with, I knew where everyone stood in regards to what they thought of my coming back.

These next few days would be rough, I doubt Cyril or Terrador would let go of their anger overnight, but hey, at least I had Cynder and Sparx right? I think I'll be fine… just fine…

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

My eyes opened to a sight I never thought I'd see again, my room… my **human** room… I couldn't believe it, everything was just as I left it, every detail, every corner and object exactly as I remembered it. I felt a sense of ease come over me, as if every problem I had just magically vanished. Sweet normalcy once again within my grasp. However… this relief quickly faded when I noticed I was still a dragon.

This also made me question what was happening here then, why was I back in the Human Realms? Ignitus said I couldn't return without risking it's stability, and I don't remember crossing through any portal. But yet… I was still here, in my old room, the room I spent three years living in a body that wasn't mine, experiencing a life I still kinda longed for, where my only true worry was ducking the jocks at school.

"Do you like it?"

I froze, I knew that voice… I could **never** forget that voice… it was the dream dragon, the one that started this whole thing… sure enough he was sitting right there in the far corner of the room, but something was different this time, his presence, it felt… wrong… unnatural, like he really shouldn't be here.

The dragon began to approach the bed I laid upon, "It's unfair… isn't it Jason? How quickly he took this all from you, stripping you of everything and everyone you ever knew in this world, forcing you back into a life many do not welcome you back to," he said. "Even those who seemed accepting hold deep hatreds within their hearts, you know it, **I** know it, but yet… here you are, forced to bear it regardless, because poor Ignitus just couldn't stand to lose his precious Spyro," he continued.

The closer this dragon drew, the more uncomfortable I got, there was just something about him that unsettled me, something primal, buried deep within my locked memories that knew this creature was something bad, **very** bad. "Tell me Jason, do you miss them? The younger brother? The loving mother? The best friend who stuck with you to the bitter end? What has become of them I wonder, after you were so unfairly erased from their lives?" he asked me.

I hadn't even thought of that, what **did** become of my old family and friends? Were they suffering like my Dragon Realm friends had? "Ignitus didn't care about them, why would he? They were but tools, things to manipulate in order to house you while he worked to rip you from it all when he felt it was time, tell me Jason… is that fair? Did you even get a say in it all? Or where you just dragged along by the nose, forced to accept a life you never even knew existed, where those who you thought of as father figures spurn you for something you had no say in?" he continued.

I couldn't lie, he was making a lot of sense, why **was** I doing this? Because I had to? Out of some kind of guilt for abandoning a world I never knew existed? "Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked him.

The dragon grew a wicked grin, "Because little dragon, I know what it's like to be spurned by those I thought had my best interest in mind, to be forced into something you never wanted," he said, "Purple dragons are among the most powerful creatures in the realms, we have just as much control over time as The Chronicler, did you know that? What am I saying, of course you don't, even when you **had** your memories you never even scratched the surface of what a purple dragon is capable of," the dragon began to pace back and forth across the floor of my room, never taking his eyes off me for a second, "I can give it all back to you, your life as Jason, the family and friends your heart still aches for, everything Ignitus took away from you," he told me.

My eyes widened, he could do that? Could he let me go back to my life as a human? I mean, I know I just forgave myself for leaving before, but… at the same time… a part of me still wondered if I really deserved to be there, Cynder forgave me but only because I happened to have no memory, maybe… maybe it **would** be better for everyone if I just left? "You don't have to be Spyro anymore," the dragon said, "Spyro is dead, the dead should stay buried Jason, go back to your life as a human, there's no need to torment Spyro's friends any longer," he began to coax me.

I really wanted to take him up on his offer, I wanted my life back, I wanted it more than anything in the world, to see mom, Shaun, and Zack again, to just be normal, loved, to not have my mistakes hung around my neck like a noose. It was the easiest choice I could ever make. Why shouldn't I accept his offer? I never asked to be Spyro, I wasn't even given a choice in... anything! No one had to suffer anymore... I could just end all the pain now... how could I refuse?

But yet… I couldn't do it… every time I went to accept his offer I just kept seeing Cynder's face, my words getting caught inside my throat, what would she think of me if I just gave up and left? She found it in herself to forgive me even when she had every reason not to, how can I betray her now? Throw that forgiveness back into her face because things were too hard? And what about Sparx? He was so happy to have me back, how can I just rip his heart out like that and hurt him all over again? I can't do that to them… it wasn't right, it was **selfish**.

No matter how much I wanted my old life back, I owed it to my friends to reward their trust, their forgiveness, yeah maybe Terrador, Cyril, and half the population of Warfang hated me for abandoning them, but they'd come around eventually, "I'm sorry… I can't…" I said.

The dragon was at first shocked, expecting me to accept his deal without a second thought. However his shock quickly turned to rage, "So… even when I offer you a way out, you **still** spurn me?!" He growled as the room began to erupt in flames, "Don't think I didn't notice how fearful you were of me boy, you may not remember my name, but you know my face quite well, the face of the dragon you had to kill yourself to stop!" he said. Wait… was… was he Malefor?! It made sense, what other face would my subconscious give to my internal guilt than the very dragon who put me in that world in the first place? "You can't kill me Spyro, you know you can't. that's why I offered you a way out, but it seems even without memories you still cling onto that ill gotten sense of nobility!" he spat.

Malefor just stood there as my old room began to burn away, me too afraid to move a single muscle, "And what do you spurn me for? Her?! She who served as my obedient pet for many years? Do you know how easily I can take her away from you? How easily I can take **any** of them from you?" He said, "I've waited three long years to escape the prison **you** put me in, if you think for one second I'm going to allow you the chance to stop me again, you are sorely mistaken, I'm not **just** going to kill you Spyro, oh no, that would be **far** too simple," he snarled as he began to draw closer and closer until his face was practically pressed up against mine, "I'm going to **break** you, leave you battered, destroyed, **begging** for the sweet release of death! Everyone you've ever loved, Cynder, Sparx, The Guardians, even Hunter and that shelter keeper Karius, I will kill every last one of them just to show you how much of a mistake you've made!" he snarled.

My blood ran cold, what have I done?! I know I should be writing this off as a dream, but something about Malefor just seemed **real** , like he had somehow inserted himself into my dream just to make this threat. "You really thought that crystal would contain me forever? The Ancestors couldn't hold me before, what makes you think they could hold me now? I'm already free boy, and I'm coming for your little friends, and there is **nothing** you can do to stop me! Even if you **had** your memories back, you couldn't kill me last time, you can't kill me now, so I hope your little act of altruism was worth it you little whelp, because now… you're going to see just how heroism is rewarded in the **real** world," he said before everything went white.

* * *

 _ **Reality…**_

* * *

I woke up screaming, cold sweat running down my scales, tears soaking my eyes, Cynder and Sparx were both woken up with a start, "Whoa?! What's going on?! Are we being attacked?! I'm too pretty to die!" Sparx said, buzzing around the room in a panic.

But I couldn't focus on that, my mind was almost completely taken over by my own anxiety, again, the rational thing to do would be to write it off as a bad dream and move on, but something about the dream told me otherwise. I could **feel** Malefor's presence, like he was really there.

However I suddenly saw Cynder come into view, "Spyro? Are you alright? What happened?" She asked me.

I began to hyperventilate, my heart beating a mile a second, I was scared, more scared than I'd ever been in my life, "H… he's coming! Oh my god he's coming and I can't stop it!" I said hysterically.

Cynder and Sparx both seemed quite confused by this, "Who's coming?" Cynder asked me.

I tried to calm myself down enough to answer her question, "Malefor! He's coming! He's going to kill everyone and I can't stop him! Oh god I can't stop him!" I said.

Cynder and Sparx both looked at each other before turning back to me, "Spyro, Malefor isn't coming, he's trapped by the Ancestors, you probably just had a bad dream," she told me.

However I knew better, that wasn't just a dream! "No he's not! He's coming back and he's gonna kill everyone I know and love!" I cried, Cynder began to stroke the back of my head, trying to calm me down, but how could I? Malefor was back and he was **pissed** , I had to die just to stop him last time! How could I stop him again?!

I could see that Sparx was beginning to panic, he **knew** that he had to be on Malefor's hit list, "Wh… what if Spyro's right Cynder? I… I don't wanna die!" he stammered.

However Cynder just glared at him, "Malefor **isn't** coming back Sparx! He's gone! Spyro just had a nightmare, there's nothing more to it than that!" she snapped, rather bitterly too I might add, as if she **really** didn't want it to be true. Given what happened the last time Malefor came back, I couldn't say I blamed her. I didn't want to believe he was back either, but something about that dream was screaming at me that Malefor's threat was all too real.

I began to sob uncontrollably, horrible images of Malefor killing my friends played on endless loop in my mind, I was so scared I felt close to pure **madness** , as if any moment the pure, unhinged terror would swallow me whole. "I'm telling you Cynder, something about that dream… it felt **real…** I want to believe it's just a nightmare like you said… but something deep inside me is telling me it **isn't** ," I explained.

Cynder began to look worried, I don't know if it was because of how scared I was, or if it was the prospect that Malefor might return, neither would surprise me, it could even be a mix of the two for all I knew. "Spyro, it's going to be okay, even if it wasn't just a dream, which I still think it is, we'll overcome him just like we did last time," she said.

Sparx decided to butt in, "Maybe not **exactly** like last time, I'd rather you did it without the… ya know… **dying** part?" he said, well that went without saying, I didn't **want** to end up dying again, I already abandoned this world once, I wasn't about to do it again.

However, the conversation stopped when we heard a knocking on the door, oh god, if **that's** Malefor… no no, keep your head on straight Spyro, you're being paranoid. Cynder got up without a word and began to approach the door, my head practically stuck in my throat I was so tense.

However, when she opened the door, the visitor was revealed, it wasn't Malefor, thank god, but it was still someone I'd rather **not** see right now.

There, standing in the doorway, was none other than Terrador…

* * *

 **A/N: And THAT, is how you leave on a cliffhanger kids! What does Terrador want with our heroes? Well you're just going to have to keep reading to find out then won't you?**

 **Now I know what you're thinking, "Foowd, I thought you were posting these chapters daily?! What happened Yesterday?!" well, I kinda wanted to take a short break, the holiday season be crazy yo, I had gifts to buy/wrap, others to watch the shipping progress on Amazon, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed to say the least and I didn't want it effecting this story so I decided to sit on this chapter until today.**

 **A Little shout out to "SkdaGamer" for somewhat inspiring the beginning portion of this chapter with his kinda valid criticisms in regards to Cynder and Sparx's quickness to forgive Spyro, so I tried to at least explain why Cynder and Sparx reacted the way they did, while I doubt this was the fix he had in mind, it was the best one I could come up with without completely rewriting the whole damn fanfic. (And I've already had to do it with this remake twice! So I'm not about to do _that_ again!) **

**Sometimes I don't notice these things, I'm kinda stupid like that, and the whole point of me rewriting this was to correct the mistakes I made with the original. I want this thing to be as good as I can possibly make it, I don't want to leave this remake with regrets like the original.**

 **I always welcome constructive criticism whenever I get it, I want to give you guys the very best I can, and having people point out when I screw up helps a TON with that. I am but a flawed human being after all.**

 **I am still proud of this remake though, I'm really impressed with how much better I made it than the original so far, and I hope I can continue making it better and better.**

 **UPDATE: I extended Spyro's narration at the Malefor offer scene to give it more punch, I also fixed a few grammar gaffs.**


	11. Spread My Wings

**Chapter 10: Spread My Wings**

* * *

What was Terrador **doing** here?! I found myself asking myself this question over and over again but could never think of an answer. My mind was awash in fear and panic, only more exemplified by the anxiety I **already** had because of Malefor's little dream visit. But in fairness, with Malefor, one could argue it **was** just a dream and I was overreacting. Terrador however, **was** here, physically, and very much capable of beating the stuffing out of me… again…

I began to hyperventilate again, fight or flight beginning to take hold, and since fighting him was clearly out of the question, I chose flight, scrambling away as fast as I could, hiding myself in what I **think** is a closet. "Spyro wait!" I heard Terrador call but I wasn't listening, I hadn't forgotten how badly our **last** encounter went, and I wasn't about to risk being crushed by rocks again.

I shut the closet door, holding it closed by the handle with my claws, I felt like the victim in a slasher film, waiting for the killer to come and hack me to pieces, my heart pounding in my chest as memories of how helpless I was during Terrador's attack played in my head, constantly reminding me of the fate that awaited me if he got this door open.

I could hear the floorboards creek under the weight of his mighty paws, drawing ever closer, however I also heard lighter footsteps speedily approach, "Leave him alone! He's been through enough already!" I heard Cynder growl. She was trying to stop him, I didn't know for sure if she could, but I was hoping against all hope she could.

However, Terrador's reaction was not one I expected, "Relax Cynder, I'm not here for a fight, I just want to speak with him," he said, his voice was calm, reserved, a far cry from his angry bellows last time. "Please… I need you to trust me," he added.

My breathing was heavy, stilted, panic gripping me in it's vice, god why did **he** have to find me?! "Last time you "talked" you almost killed him Terrador! I'm not taking that risk again!" replied Cynder. Clearly she wasn't buying Terrador's sudden "change of heart", neither was I really. Even if he somehow managed to convince Cynder I was **not** opening this door, I was under enough stress already, I didn't need **this** too!

A few painful moments of silence followed, not being able to see what was happening only allowed for my paranoid mind to make guesses. But finally, "Please Cynder, just a few moments… he can stay in the closet if he wishes, I just want to talk with him," he pleaded.

I heard Terrador's footsteps approach the door, I tightened my grip on the handle, bracing myself for his attempts to force it open, "Spyro relax, I'm not here to hurt you, you have my word," Terrador said.

Well excuse me if I'm less than trusting of the dragon that nearly crushed my ribs like a Dixie cup! "G… Go away! Just leave me alone!" I yelled, god how much of this am I expected to deal with? I've been punched, crushed, verbally undressed, and theoretically had my dreams manipulated! Can't I catch a break for once in my life?

"Spyro please..." I heard Terrador say, "I don't blame you for fearing me, after what happened yesterday… me attacking you, Cyril's outburst, I can't imagine how much stress you're under right now," he said, you don't know the half of it! "But believe me when I tell you I just want to talk, I won't hurt you, you can even stay inside the closet if it makes you feel safe," he said.

I weighed my options, I knew he wasn't going to leave until he said his piece, but at the same time, just being **around** him was throwing me into a panic, "Spyro," I heard Terrador say, "I understand my actions yesterday were… rash… unfitting of a dragon like myself, but… I want you to understand **why** I reacted like I did," He said.

I shook my head, "You thought I was some kind of doppelganger right?" I said, I was still quite tense, fearful at any moment he would rip the door open and beat me within an inch of my life.

However, Terrador's answer wasn't what I expected, "Yes and no," he said, "I **wanted** to believe you were a doppelganger, I was… in denial… you could say," he continued, denial? "I didn't want to believe you would just vanish for three years and just come back out of nowhere, so I… convinced myself you were a fake… it was… selfish… but it was what I did," he explained. "I admit, I wasn't as close to you as Ignitus and Cynder were, but… I still cared about you… you were my only student… my only charge…" he continued, "Do you remember the temple raid?" he asked me.

Temple raid? "N… No?" I said, fearful that any slip of the tongue would send him off the rails, I didn't know where he was even going with this though, why he felt the need to talk to me like this, it was almost a complete one eighty from his reaction to me last time. Maybe he had time to think it over? That was my only guess, but still, I didn't want to take the risk.

"Of course not," he said, "When you and Cynder were eggs, our temple was raided by Malefor's dark armies, you two were… the only survivors… we had thought we could protect the eggs, we were wrong… a failure like that… of **that** magnitude… it never leaves you… all of us Guardians were scarred by that night… some of us showed it more than others… but to this very day… I'm still haunted by the image of those shattered eggs… the baby dragons I failed to protect," he continued.

Okay… I know Malefor was a bad guy, obviously, but… smashing baby dragon eggs? Dude… that's messed up! "Why are you telling me this?" I asked. It wasn't really that relevant to the current topic at hand when you really thought about it.

"Because I want you to understand why Cyril and I reacted so poorly," he said, "Volteer has always been good at dealing with his own pain, how that dragon manages to stay so high spirited I'll never know, but Cyril and I are different… as you've seen," he continued. "Your death effected us all, you were our only student, and over the short time we got to know you, you became something of a son to us, Ignitus was far closer than the rest of us mind you, but that doesn't mean we didn't care for you," he said.

I sighed, knowing where this was going, "I hurt you all… I know… and all I can say is that I'm sorry…" I said, knowing it probably wasn't good enough, but it was all I had.

However, "It wasn't just that Spyro," he said, "When I saw you yesterday, standing there in the temple, alive, I didn't know what to think, I just couldn't accept that you would vanish without a word, then appear from nowhere after three long years, all that grieving, all the work we put into your ceremony, rendered meaningless in an instant, the very idea you would betray us like that… make us think you were dead only to show up three years later… I couldn't accept it… "Spyro wouldn't be that selfish, he would have told us he was alive" I told myself, so I convinced myself you were a fake, a copy created to torment me and my friends," he said.

I felt the guilt come back, despite me forgiving myself last night, a part of me still knew I hurt them, and that I'd never be able to give them back those three years they spent grieving. "But…" Terrador then suddenly said, "Volteer and I talked last night, shortly after Cyril had returned from town, we spent hours trying to work out what happened, why you would vanish so suddenly, and return after three long years," he continued, "And I realized… I was right… you **wouldn't** do that to us… not on purpose… Volteer told me of your story, how you were a human for those three years, completely oblivious to your life as Spyro…" he said. "I just want to ask you one thing Spyro… if you had known… about us… would you have returned sooner?" he asked me.

That was a tough question, part of me wanted to just tell him what he wanted to hear, that I would have, but I didn't want to lie to him, "I don't know… I loved my family, my friends I had in that world… maybe I would have returned if I remembered, but… I can't say for certain," I said, knowing full well how bad this made me sound. But I can't lie to him, I can't just tell him what he wanted to hear, he deserved the truth… they **all** did.

"I appreciate your honesty Spyro," he said with a sigh, "But still, I can't lie to you either and say I forgive you completely, lost memories or not, you still hurt us, that's almost impossible for me to look past," he admitted, "I **can** however understand your reasons, you aren't a bad dragon Spyro, you never were, even now… you're still as noble and kind as I remember, and I'm glad Cynder was able to look past her own pain to help you, I imagine this whole ordeal has been very difficult for you, and Cyril and I certainly haven't helped matters," he explained. "It will take time, but eventually… we can rebuild what we had, I came here today because I wanted to tell you that I don't hate you, I could **never** hate you, and I also want you to know, Cyril doesn't hate you either, I believe he simply hates what you've done, in time I hope he can find it in himself to forgive you, that we **all** can find it within ourselves to forgive you," He said.

I felt my grip on the door handle loosen, there was no anger here, no fury to be weary of, just earnest, honest conversations, the door began to slowly open, revealing Terrador's face, he was laying next to the door, his expression flat, not a drop of anger behind his jade eyes, "I… I never wanted to hurt you guys..." I said.

Terrador nodded, "I know," he said, "But you still did, we can't change the past Spyro, as much as I would like to take those three horrible years back, we cannot, the best that we can do is simply try to break even, try to move past our anger and our sorrows, and look towards the future, whatever it may hold," he said.

I couldn't disagree, I've said the same thing to myself before, that all I could really do was work towards a better tomorrow, but hearing Terrador say it strangely gave me a little comfort. He hadn't forgiven me, not completely, but he seemed to be at least trying to work towards forgiving me. "I won't leave you guys again… I promise… I'll never put any of you through that again…" I said.

Terrador nodded his head, "Of that I have no doubt Spyro," he said, "Although I would suggest avoiding the temple if you can, Cyril isn't exactly the forgiving type, it will take time to even get him to a point where he will be civil with you, let alone forgive you, but I want you to at least know, that I'm willing to set aside my own anger, just as Cynder has, because, angry as I am with what you did, Warfang has always felt a bit empty without the Legendary Purple Dragon," he said, cracking a tiny smile.

He then got up, "Thank you Spyro, for at least trying to hear me out, even if it was from behind the door of Cynder's closet," he said before heading towards the door, not another word was spoken as the Earth Guardian left through the front door.

A good twenty seconds of silence followed, neither Cynder nor I being able to even think of a word to say, Sparx however? "Geeze… talk about uncomfortable..." he said. No kidding, "I honestly don't get what the big deal is, can't everyone just be happy you're back?" he asked.

I shook my head, "It's a bit more complicated than that Sparx," I said, "Some people aren't that quick to forgive this sort of thing, in fact, I kinda think **you're** the odd one our here," I said simply.

However Sparx just rolled his eyes, "Whatever, maybe not having you around for three years made me appreciate having you around more? Besides, you had no memories, how **could** you have come back?" he added.

You know, in a way… he was kinda right, I guess that was why Sparx was so quick to forgive, he just didn't care about anything beyond having me back, it was weird sure, kinda simplistic actually, but then again… so was Sparx. I had no control over what happened sure, but that didn't magically erase the three years of heartbreak these poor people went through either.

Cynder however, "I'm just glad Terrador didn't try to kill you again, I'd rather not have to fight any of the guardians if I can avoid it," she said. The very notion we'd ever have to **fight** them didn't sit well with me at all. But considering Terrador and Volteer seemed to be at least civil, I doubt it would ever come to that.

But then, "Spyro, I know today has been, kind of rough, what with the nightmare and now Terrador, but… I want to start working on your flying," she said. Oh no… oh **hell** no! Not after what happened **last** time I tried to fly! "Don't give me that look Spyro!" she snapped at me. "You're a dragon, dragon's fly! Now come with me or I'll drag you by your tail!" She said, lightly whacking me with the tip of her tail as she turned around.

Dammit, I guess I'm not getting out of this one. We began to walk through the city, the air was cold, the sun offered light but no real warmth, the city's population beginning their daily routines, however I noticed a few giving some rather scathing looks our way.

At first I thought they were directed at me, but eventually I started to realize they were actually directed at **Cynder**. I found this odd, since **I** was the one who abandoned these people for three years. What was their problem with Cynder? Was it because of the whole "Terror of the Skies" thing? I had no clue, but it was really starting to bother me. However things suddenly got worse when out of nowhere, a bright red tomato came sailing through the air.

It splatted right against the back of Cynder's head, the red juices trickling down her ebony scales and staining the white snow below, I turned to see two teenagers laughing, one cheetah and one mole "HA! I got her! Ten points!" the cheetah said rather proudly.

I felt myself getting really angry at them, "HEY! Why don't you throw one of those my way jackass! See how well it turns out!" I barked back. I wasn't going to stand here and watch these bozos pick on Cynder! God it really **was** just like high school wasn't it? Didn't matter which world I was in, it seemed I'd never be free of immature assholes picking on my friends.

The mole then suddenly beamed me with what I **think** was an avocado, it felt like getting struck in the face with a golf ball, don't ask me why I know what that feels like, it's a long story, "Why don't you butt out deserter!" he scoffed. Wow, you'd think people would be more hesitant to pick fights with the purple dragon of all people, I admit, I didn't remember much, but I **did** know that we purple dragons were known to be quite powerful creatures. Sure, **I** wasn't right now, but **they** didn't know that!

I slowly got up, I knew what I was going to do, I was going to try to scare them a little, I began to growl softly, glaring at them, my back hunched over like an angry cat. I instantly noticed them suddenly turn skittish, before turning tail and running for the hills. I couldn't help but smirk a little, it was the first time I'd ever tried to intimidate someone and it **worked**. I guess they realized pissing off the guy who supposedly defeated Malefor wasn't the best idea.

However "Spyro you didn't need to do that, I can take care of myself," said Cynder. I turned to see she still had tomato juice dripping from her head.

But I just shook my head, "Someone had to! You can't let people treat you like that Cynder!" I objected, being bullied was obviously something I had quite a bit of experience in sadly, and I had to eventually learn to stand up for myself, I remember me and Zack once teamed up with each other to chase off a bunch of dumb jocks who had taped our friend Scott to a pole. Suffice to say, there were no more incidents of my friends getting taped to poles.

However Cynder seemed to not really appreciate me standing up for her, "I'm used to being treated like this Spyro, you may be the great "purple dragon of legend", but I'll always be known as the former "Terror of the Skies", she said. "I don't want you picking fights for my sake, I can handle myself just fine," she said.

This was kinda dumb, I'm sorry, it was, "I'm sorry Cynder, but if you're asking me to sit back and let people pick on you you're going to be very disappointed! I didn't stand for it when my friend Zack got picked on, and I certainly won't stand for it when **you** do," I said, I was completely serious too, Cynder was my friend, I wasn't going to sit here and watch her get tormented by idiot teenagers chucking fruit!

However… Cynder just laughed, I raised an eyebrow, "You really **haven't** changed Spyro," she said. "But I mean it, I don't want you picking fights for my sake, I haven't forgotten what happened the **last time** someone made you angry," she explained.

Oh you just had to remind me of **that** didn't you? I was still trying to forget that I had this horrible darkness inside me that could take me over any moment. Thanks for reminding me Cynder! "Honestly Cynder, I'm trying to not think about that darkness thing," I said.

Cynder nodded, "I don't blame you, but it's still a legitimate concern, with your lack of memory, it might be harder for you to keep it under control, the last thing I want is for you to end up killing someone because they tossed a tomato at me," she said. She wasn't **wrong** , that would be kinda bad. But I liked to think that, even without my memory, that I'd have more self control than **that.**

I then happened to hear a crunching sound, we both turned to see that Sparx was chomping into the avocado that had just recently been bounced off my head. Neither Cynder nor myself were very impressed to be quite honest. "What? I'm hungry! Why waste a perfectly good avocado?" He asked.

Cynder and I couldn't help but laugh a little, Sparx didn't seem to understand the concept of tact. That avocado was used to beam me in the face, but no no… you just keep biting into it with your tiny little dragonfly teeth you jerk.

After that, Cynder resumed leading me to where she apparently wanted me to practice my flying. Outside the city too as we exited through the front gate, and yes, those same two guards were still there, and I'm pretty sure they **still** don't think I'm really purple. I'm just glad they didn't choose to dump on poor Cynder this time, I think she's had **enough** of that today.

Cynder lead me into the snow covered forest, ironically the one I had first appeared in this world in, however, my heart began to sink when I noticed we were approaching a cliff. She was trying to kill me wasn't she? Cynder quickly noticed I stopped, a very annoyed look on her face, "Come on Spyro! You need to learn to fly! Get over here!" she scolded me, not unlike a fussy mother trying to get her kid to eat his vegetables.

I timidly approached the cliff, looking down over the side to see a **huge** drop, a good ten stories at least! She couldn't be serious about this right? I mean… really? "Can't we practice on a… uh… safer spot?" I asked.

Cynder just gave me this dry look like I had just said the stupid thing ever. "It's how I learned, now stop being such a hatchling and trust me okay?" she said. Hatchling? It's a ten story cliff! I mess up here and I'll **die** , and I doubt the ancestors will be willing to fix my body **twice**. "Just remember what I said before, just close your eyes, and focus on flying," she instructed me. Yeah, and last time I wound up free falling into ice cold rapids! I think I might need a little **more** than that Cynder!

However, of course, she didn't wait for me, diving off the cliff before spreading her wings and flying around. I took a few steps back, really unsure if I actually wanted to even **attempt** this, let alone **do** it. "Come on big guy what's the matter? The big scary cliff too much for the mighty purple dragon? Aw… that's too bad," I heard Sparx tease me. You're **not** helping Sparx! "Come on, you can do this Spyro, or... you'll crash like last time and impale yourself on those sharp rocks down there," he said. you're **really** not helping Sparx!

I knew I'd have to do it, but I was afraid, I was never a fan of heights, which is ironic for a dragon when you really thought about it. "Come on Spyro! You'll be fine! It's how I learned!" Cynder called to me.

You know, I'm not surprised Malefor was the kind of jerk that would toss baby dragons off cliffs to teach them to fly, but this didn't help **me** much. I was afraid, I didn't want to die, I already apparently did that once and it did **not** work out in my favor to put it nicely. I took a deep breath, I knew I had to at least try it, if I messed up, Cynder would save me… right? Come on Spyro… you can do this… you just gotta focus…

I slowly trudged off the cliff, however the second my feet left solid ground, I got another headache. Oh come on! **Now** is not the time for mental home movies brain! The flashback was of me and Ignitus, he was teaching me to fly, walking me through the steps. Forgetting myself and letting my ancestors guide me. When the flashback ended my eyes opened to see I was floating just above a rather sharp looking rock, that didn't exactly make me feel very comfortable to put it lightly.

I turned my head around, expecting to see Cynder holding my tail, looking very disappointed, but saw nothing but my flapping wings. It was so effortless, just like before, my wings just automatically flapped themselves. I propelled myself forward, just above the water, I even skid the tip of my right wing against the water, creating a tiny splash. This time felt different than the last, I felt like I was in complete control, every movement, every dip and ascension as natural as walking.

The wind rushed against my face as I began to fly upwards, I couldn't resist letting a loud cheer escape from my throat, for the first time since returning to this world I was actually enjoying myself. It was as if every heartbreak, every feeling of guilt, every nightmare, every worry I ever felt melted away from the pure ecstasy of flight. I felt alive, more than myself, I could see everything from up here, even Warfang, which looked incredible from this height.

I began to do loops, barrel rolls, really getting as much out of my wings as I could. This must be what Superman feels like flying over Metropolis, this unrivaled feeling of freedom. This was just what I needed, just to spread my wings and fly my problems away.

I saw Cynder fly up next to me, "See? I knew you could do it," she said. Did she though? Aw hell, what do I care?! This is incredible! Maybe it was just me having lived as a flightless human for three years, but this was unbelievable!

Me and Cynder danced through the skies, looping around each other like two jets in a choreographed air show, both of us hollering and laughing like giddy children. Both of us having too much fun to care about much else. I didn't even want to land, I just wanted to stay up here forever, just fly and fly, take in the views and escape it all.

Cynder began to lead me back into the forest again, coming down for a landing, part of me was saddened by this, knowing my fun in the skies were about to come to an end. But I knew I had to land eventually, my wings weren't going to flap forever, and I'd rather they not give out when I'm airborne. So I followed her down, however, that's when I suddenly had a new problem.

I had no idea how to land, like… at all. That couldn't be part of the flashback brain? Yeah you can learn to fly Spyro, but landing? Pfft! Who needs to know that right?! I began to flail my limbs around like mad, as if hoping the answer would come eventually. Cynder noticed instantly and braced herself to catch me.

However, I think she overestimated her own strength as I plowed right through her, sending both of us tumbling across the snow, down a hill until finally managing to come to a stop. Yeah… that hurt. We both looked at each other for a moment, not sure how to react, before we suddenly both began to laugh.

Just two goofballs laying in the snow after being sent tumbling down a hill, it was the first real good laugh I've had since becoming Spyro again, I've had little ones throughout, but this was the first real gut laugh I've had in a while. It felt good in spite of it being technically at my own expense. This went on for a good minute or two before slowly tapering off, I decided to speak, "Cynder?" I said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Thanks… for everything, for helping me regain my life here, I don't know how long I would have lasted by myself," I said, I'm not sure why I felt the need to bring this up **now** , but I just felt the need to say it.

Cynder smiled, "Someone has to keep you from hurting yourself," she replied, causing another bout of giggles.

However, our little moment of silliness was interrupted by a familiar figure stepping out from the brush, it was Ignitus… what was he doing here? "Ignitus?" I questioned.

He looked… off… solemn… like he had terrible news for us, "Spyro… I know you've been struggling trying to regain your memories," he said, "But… I fear your need to regain them has become more dire," he said.

My eyes widened, I knew where this was going and didn't like it one bit, I was almost hoping he'd say otherwise, but, "Malefor has escaped his confines," he said, his voice grave, like that of someone informing a next of kin of their loved one's passing.

My moment of joy died at the mere utterance of that name, replaced with pure panic, it **wasn't** just a dream after all… he really **was** back… and that meant… oh god no… "I know you've been through a lot lately Spyro… but dark clouds are gathering… you must prepare yourself… regain your memories and your powers… or all your efforts will be for naught," he said.

It was like a shot to the heart, regaining my memories was hard enough on it's own, but now I had a time limit on top of that, just when I thought the worst was over too… now I had to work twice as hard… or lose everything all over again…

* * *

 **A/N: Dun dun duuuh!**

 **Originally the learning to fly scene happened later in the story, but with this remake, I kinda felt like it fit here better, it just sorta came out of nowhere in the original, which is not very good writing.**


	12. Re-Education

**Chapter 11: Re-education**

* * *

Cynder and I spent so long just simply trying to process what Ignitus had just told us, neither of us were all that willing to accept that Malefor was free once again even long after Ignitus had left, I barely remembered a thing about Malefor, but he always seemed to trigger this deep seeded, primal fear in me, as if something locked deep within myself remembered to fear him. Knowing what I **did** know of Malefor certainly didn't help matters, that wasn't even getting into Malefor threatening to kill my friends part. I had no breath elements, and even if I did, I still probably wouldn't be strong enough to protect them. I felt so helpless, like a giant pillar was wobbling before me, threatening to come crashing down and crush me under it's weight.

I looked to Cynder, "Cynder… what do we do?" I asked her, I had no idea where to even begin to respond to this whole thing, it was insane, terrifying, I felt completely helpless. She knew more about Malefor than I did currently, so she'd probably know what our first course of action should be.

However, "The first thing we need to do is retrain you in your elements, I know Malefor won't wait for you to regain your powers, no he'll want the advantage," she explained.

I tilted my head, knowing how well my **last** attempt to try to unlock my breath powers went. "How do I do that?" I asked her, thinking she had some kind of plan or something.

Cynder sighed, "There is one way, but you're not going to like it," she said, "We're going to have to get help from The Guardians," she elaborated.

I shook my head, "No! Cynder, we can't!" I said, I was **not** willing to face Cyril again, not after what happened last time we saw each other. There had to be another way!

However, Cynder stared me right in the eyes, "We have no choice Spyro! I can't train you, I don't have the same elements as you, they **do**!" she explained, I know she's right, but that did little to help me feel the least bit better, I clearly still felt a connection with The Guardians, despite my lack of memory, having Cyril lash out at me like he did cut deep, I couldn't go through that again! "Spyro… listen to me," she said, "I know you're afraid, but we can't avoid them forever, I'll be right by your side the whole time, I won't let anything happen to you okay?" She tried to reassure me, tried to give me some of her confidence.

She was right, as much as I didn't want her to be, she was right. I had to face Cyril again eventually, I couldn't keep running, no matter how hard it was for me, I had to face him, face what I **did** to him, be strong. "Okay… I'll do it," I said.

With that, Cynder and I flew off for the Dragon Temple, I tried my best to mentally prepare myself the whole flight there, bracing myself for whatever waited for me within those hallowed halls. I knew that Terrador hadn't fully forgiven me, and even warned me not to come to the temple for a while, but with Malefor returned, I was hoping we could at least move past the animosity for the sake of stopping him.

But when have I **ever** been that lucky? No, I knew Cyril would still hate me, and I had to be prepared for that. Sadly the flight to the temple wasn't nearly long enough for me to do so, as we soon arrived. Cynder swooped down, landing on the front steps. I still didn't know how to land, but I was going to give it another try, I figured maybe just putting my legs out in front of me would do the trick.

Nope, my momentum was too much, and I instantly tumbled forward, painfully rolling through the entrance of the temple before suddenly being caught by something. "My word.. that was **quite** an entrance young dragon," I heard Volteer comment. I looked up to see Volteer's warm face looming over me, he looked a bit surprised and a little concerned.

I'd better say something, if anything to put him at ease, "Sorry Volteer, I'm… uh… still trying to nail down this whole **flying** thing," I said with a nervous chuckle. I hadn't forgotten what Cynder told me, that Volteer had suspicions I wasn't who I said I was, I don't know if he **still** held these suspicions or not, but it never hurt to be a little cautious.

Volteer helped me up, "That's quite alright Spyro, if memory serves you were never that skilled at aviation even when you **had** all your mental faculties in check," he said. You know what, I'd buy that, I'd always been a klutz, I guess me falling over myself constantly was a carry over from my previous time as Spyro rather than a side effect of being a human for three years.

Cynder came running in "Spyro! Are you okay?!" she asked, however she stopped when she saw Volteer standing next to me, "Oh… uh… hi Volteer," She said nervously, no doubt remembering how… um… "sour" their last conversation had been.

However, Volteer just smiled, "What brings you two here today? I thought for certain Cyril's little childish outburst yesterday would have made you more tepid to step into these halls again?" he asked. Revealing he for whatever reason didn't get Cyril's reaction, even going so far as to call it "childish", as if he were some spoiled kid complaining he wasn't getting the new iPhone for Christmas.

Neither Cynder nor I were all that quick to answer, this was quite the bombshell to drop on someone. That the very dragon I died to stop was coming back for round two. But eventually, Cynder chose to be the one to say it, "Malefor escaped," she said flat out, like ripping off a band aid, just straight and to the point.

Volteer's reaction was what you would expect it to be, a mix of shock and horror, no doubt realizing what this meant, what was now at risk all over again, "I… it's not possible..." he said to himself, "We must inform Terrador and Cyril immediately, if what you're saying is true… and **he's** returned… things are looking mighty bleak indeed," he said.

Volteer then began to lead us into the temple, I knew it was coming, my inevitable confrontation with Cyril, something I had been hoping to avoid but was now being forced into by Malefor's supposed return. I had no delusions of Cyril having the same change of heart Terrador did. Terrador's case was just plain denial, his unwillingness to accept that I had just up and left them, and later learned I had no choice in the matter. Cyril though? He knew full well what happened, that I had no say, and that I didn't mean to hurt them, but he just didn't **care** , to him, I was still guilty, and I doubt I could ever change that.

Then there was the case of Malefor himself, I wanted to believe he wasn't coming back, that Ignitus must have made some kind of mistake, but the timing was too perfect, the same day I woke up from the nightmare of him I had, the one where he threatened to kill everyone I had ever known and loved in this world, hell I'd even buy he'd find a way to kill my human realm friends too! Why not? If he can escape confinement from what I was assuming were the gods of this world, inter dimensional travel couldn't be that far out of his reach.

We soon arrived in the main chamber, oddly Terrador and Cyril were right there waiting for us. One look at Cyril told me he hadn't lost an ounce of his anger with me since yesterday, as he refused to even make eye contact with me, "What's **he** doing here Volteer?" he growled, still refusing to even turn his head in my direction.

Volteer sighed, "We have a problem," he said, trying to ease them into it no doubt.

However Volteer really should have thought through his wording a bit, as Cyril took the chance to lay into me again almost without hesitation, "Oh you **bet** we do! Get him out of here Volteer! I don't even want to see his face again! Not after what he did!" He snapped.

Yeah this was going about as well as I thought it would, Cyril was beyond reasoning with, a fact that was starting to really annoy Volteer, "You stubborn old.." Volteer grumbled, "We have more important things to worry about than Spyro's sudden return!" He said, clearly not impressed with Cyril's behavior.

"Stubborn?!" Cyril snapped, finally turning his head in our direction, "Have we all just forgotten the hell this little brat put us through while he was out frolicking in the human realms?! Three years of grieving and heartache reduced to a punchline! What could possibly be so important that you dare ask me to set **that** aside?!" He screamed, his voice reverberating off the walls of the chamber.

Volteer however was unfazed by Cyril's outburst, just glaring at him, "Malefor has escaped," he said flatly. Cyril's anger quickly changed to shock, an expression shared by Terrador, the both looked at each other before Cyril turned back to Volteer, "Are you certain?" He asked, his voice slightly trembling.

Cynder nodded, "The Chronicler informed us while I was out trying to teach Spyro how to fly," she explained, "We came here because we need your help re-teaching Spyro his elemental breaths, we don't have time to let Spyro try to remember them naturally," she added.

Cyril scoffed at this, "Why? So Spyro can **die** again and leave us to grieve all over again?!" he snapped before turning to me, "If you expect me to help **you** you're wasting your time! Hell I bet you made this whole thing up in some desperate ploy to get us to trust you! Am I wrong?" he snapped.

I just sort of stared at Cyril, this confused and bewildered look that showed just how stupid this whole thing was, I get that I hurt them, but this was **far** more important! "Why would I make this up?! It was Cynder's idea to come here not mine!" I snapped back, I wasn't going to sit here and take this anymore, I wasn't going to let the world burn because Cyril can't let go of his grudge!

However Cyril slowly approached me, making himself tall in an attempt to intimidate me, "Do not pretend you have any moral ground over me you snake!" he growled, "Get out! NOW! You want to stop Malefor? Do it by yourself!" He snapped.

Terrador of all people suddenly decided he'd had enough, "CYRIL! You're way out of line!" He bellowed, stopping Cyril cold, "I have my own issues with Spyro too, but do not think I will allow you to condemn this whole world just out of spite!" he growled.

Cyril seemed caught off guard by this, as if expecting Terrador to take his side, however his pride wouldn't allow him to be verbally undressed by Terrador of all people, "I will **not** work with him! We don't even know if their claim is even true! What proof do we have that Malefor has escaped his confines?! He's clearly making this up just to get us to forget how he betrayed us!" he objected. Betrayed is a very strong word, that would imply I did any of this on **purpose.** Which even **he** had to know was a complete load.

Terrador shook his head, "It's a possibility I'll give you that Cyril," he said, "However, it's not a risk I'm willing to take, if there's even a sliver of a chance what Spyro and Cynder say is true it is our duty as Guardians to prepare him for the attack," he lectured Cyril. "We cannot allow emotions to blind us Cyril, if they're right and we didn't help them prepare? That would be the death of **millions** on our hands, are you prepared to risk that?" He asked Cyril.

Angry as he was, **stubborn** as he was, he couldn't find an argument, Terrador had him, Cyril would have to be completely soulless to even consider risking **that** many lives off a grudge. He sighed, "Fine, but only for the protection of the realms," he said before turning to me, "Don't delude yourself with any fantasies of me forgiving you, I'm doing this for the realms, **not** you," He said before storming off.

Well that was about as unpleasant as I thought it would be, Cyril's words, while irrational, still cut as deep as they had yesterday. The words he used, "snake", "betrayed", these were words meant to hurt, meant to drive home that I didn't deserve to be here. Despite me forgiving myself, I still felt hurt by his words, a part of me still believed them, even in spite of everything Ignitus, Cynder, and even Sparx had told me, the feelings of guilt still remained.

Terrador approached me, "Spyro, come, we shall start with your earth training," he said before leading me to the dojo, I followed him closely, all the while Cyril's words still rang in my head, I just tried my best to remind myself it wasn't my fault I left them, that I shouldn't let my guilt control me. "Spyro," I heard Terrador say, ripping me from my thoughts, "I admit, I wasn't as close to you as Ignitus was, but I can still tell when something's bothering you, talk to me, what is it that plagues your mind?" he asked me.

I debated telling him, knowing he hadn't completely forgiven me for what I had done, "It's… It's just… Cyril's reaction, I was expecting him to still be mad… but…" I tired to explain, but the words became caught in my throat, I couldn't quite find the right ones to use.

Terrador however, still understood my meaning, "But they were still hard for you to withstand?" He said, I nodded, "A part of you probably still remembers him, I remember you used to look up to us, like father figures almost, especially Ignitus, but you were still close to all of us in some shape or form," he explained. "A part of you still does, that is probably why Cyril's words effect you like they do, you **want** him to forgive you," he said.

It was something I had been theorizing for quite a while, but having them put to words from an outside perspective somehow made that theory more concrete, "But he won't… will he?" I asked.

Terrador let out another sigh, "I cannot say Spyro, that is up to Cyril and Cyril alone," he said. I figured that, "But what I **can** tell you young dragon, is that you shouldn't let those words get to you like they are, you need to focus, Cyril will come around eventually, he may be brash, stubborn, but he's also very rational, and I know that from what you've seen this may sound odd, but he also has a kind heart," He explained.

That last one surprised me, Cyril didn't exactly come off as the erm… cuddly type for lack of a better term, "He never likes to show it, but he cares greatly for those in his life, it's why he was so angry with you, it's like I said this morning, he doesn't hate **you** , just what you did," he explained.

We then reached the dojo, Terrador sitting off to the side, "But we cannot focus on that now, we have more important issues than Cyril and his feelings, you need to regain your control over the elements Spyro, otherwise you will stand **no** chance against Malefor," He explained.

I knew he was right, but that kind of thing was easier said than done, both focusing on something other than Cyril, **and** trying to relearn my elements, I tried to blow again, but couldn't force anything out. "No no Spyro, that's not how elemental magic works, otherwise we couldn't even **breathe** without firing them," he lectured me. "Elemental magic must come from within, every dragon has magic within themselves known as "mana", from this "mana", we create our breath magic, deep within your body, that is where it lays," he explained.

What the hell was that even supposed to mean?! "Mana"?! Dragon Magic?! It always looks so simple in movies and video games, there all the dragons do is blow and they suddenly become a living flame thrower. "Concentrate Spyro, feel the earth beneath your feet, draw from it's strength, feel the stone and rock within you and let it flow forth," he instructed me.

I tried to concentrate, to feel the earth beneath my claws, and within my own body, but couldn't will it out no matter how hard I tried. Nothing came out, not even so much as a pebble. "I can't do it!" I said, god why did being a dragon have to be so complicated?!

Terrador however simply shook his head, "You cannot give up Spyro, it will come, you **can** do it, you just need to find your power within yourself," he coached me on, pretty words Terrador but they did nothing to help me here, I had no clue how to even begin with this magic stuff.

But instead of magic, all I found was another splitting headache, goddammit not again! Flashes of me using earth breath flashed through my mind before I suddenly began to feel a familiar sensation welling up in my chest, traveling up my throat before finally pouring from my mouth. I heard a loud cracking noise, causing me to open my eyes to find the ground in front of me cracked and jagged, like Bugs Bunny had been burrowing beneath the temple. "Di… Did I do that?" I asked.

Terrador nodded, "Indeed you did Spyro, I told you you could," he said with a satisfied grin, "However, now… the **real** training begins," he said, before I could even ask what he meant, those weird dummies that I saw the first time I'd found this room suddenly sprang to life!

It was like something out of the Evil Dead, the stick and straw monstrosities moving unnaturally and stilted, like robots with no mechanics, possessed by what I could only begin to guess to be some form of magic. Suddenly they began to attack! Throwing punches, scratching at me with their "claws", some even tried to leap upon my back like lions on a kill. I did what came natural, flailing my limbs in vaguely violent ways. I was never much of a fighter as Jason, and given I was still trying to get used to my new anatomy, this was about as close to "fighting" as I was going to get right now.

I chanced a look at Terrador, his face told the story, as he just groaned and shook his head. Cut me a break Terrador! You're the one who sprung these… whatever they were at me! I couldn't seem to shake them off me in time to attempt earth breath moves, occasionally I could manage to get a rock shot off, beaming one of the abominations against nature in the head. But the crowd was still managing to overwhelm me. I felt like I was in a zombie movie, just waiting for the horde to start devouring me and end it all.

"Concentrate Spyro! You cannot rely on your elements alone! You must use your whole body as a weapon!" Terrador tried to instruct me, what do you **think** I've been trying to do?! Interpretive dance?! Come on Spyro, you can't let yourself get your ass kicked by straw test dummies of all things! You needed to learn to fight! To protect your friends! I gotta do this! I began to punch and kick at the dummies, the movements at first felt forced and unnatural, but after a while I began to get into a groove, thwacking dummy after dummy with increasing precision, slowly but surely regaining my hand to hand fighting prowess "Yes! That's it! Keep at it Spyro!" I heard Terrador cheer, letting me know I was **finally** getting it right,

Granted, I was still kind of sloppy, but I was at least holding my own now, only **occasionally** getting thwacked by the dummies. I then felt some kind of energy slowly building within me, rocks began to slowly rise from the ground, it was as if the magic inside me was full to bursting and just **dying** to be let out. I closed my eyes, my instincts taking over as the energy began to build before finally exploding from me like a bomb, sending debris into the dummies, tearing them to shreds.

I blinked as I saw the dummies reduced to bits of stick and straw all across the floor, as if a hurricane had passed through the dojo, "Wh… what was that?" I asked.

Terrador slowly approached me, "That Spyro, is what we dragons call a "fury", a powerful burst of pure elemental energy, it uses a lot of magic to execute, so you should only ever use it as a last resort," he said. He wasn't kidding either, as I felt considerably fatigued. I felt tired, like I really wanted a nap, "We've made excellent progress today, your hand to hand techniques could use a bit of work, but you've completely remastered earth in record time," he congratulated me.

Suffice to say, I was feeling **quite** good about myself, I finally had one of my special dragon elements back, it wasn't **fire** sure, but hey, I could basically Earth Bend now, which was pretty awesome in it's own right. It finally felt like things were finally starting to come together, I managed to win two out of three guardians to my side, I could fly, and now, I could breathe rocks at people, so far, so good. I couldn't fight the goofy grin that crept up my face, I felt good now, finally having something **good** happen to me for once.

Terrador approached, "I see your success has returned some of your confidence young dragon," he commented, noticing my significant change in mood since we began.

I nodded, "Yeah, I finally feel like I'm starting to get some control back in my life, being able to fight again kind of takes the edge off of Malefor's return," I explained. I know it wasn't much, and I doubted I could take down Malefor by pelting him with rocks, but it was a step in the right direction at least.

"That's good to hear," said Terrador, "You're starting to become more like the Spyro I once knew, come, we should inform the others of your progress," he told me before leading me out of the dojo, if relearning the elements went as easily as earth did, then I'd be back at full power in no time, although learning fire again was going to be tricky since Ignitus wasn't exactly available for fire lessons, being The Chronicler and all. But I'd cross that bridge when I got there, for now, I was just going to enjoy one of the few victories I had in this world so far.

But that moment of victory was sadly short lived, as when Terrador and I rounded the corner of the hallway, we heard a loud crashing sound, followed by screams and the sounds of breath elements being fired. Terrador and I both had the same idea of what this could be, and neither of us liked it very much. We both darted down the halls, only to see Volteer violently tossed down the hall and into the wall in front of us.

"My, was I interrupting something?"

I recognized that voice instantly, how could I **not** at this point, and sure enough I turned my head to see an all too familiar dragon slowly walking down the hallway, a smug expression on his pale purple face, "How very **rude** of me," he laughed, "I see you've been trying to prepare yourselves for me, how adorable," he mused.

Terrador instantly stepped between me and Malefor, "You are not welcome in this temple Malefor! Leave now or else!" he growled, I didn't know if Terrador could take Malefor in a fight, Malefor was supposedly stupidly over powered, like a monster a particularly cruel RPG dungeon master would create just to slaughter his players. This was the same dragon mind you, that apparently almost broke the world so badly I had to literally kill myself just to fix it.

Malefor seemed to know this as well, laughing to himself as Terrador braced for a fight, "Really Earth Guardian? **You're** going to stop me are you? I welcome you to try Terrador, but you might not like how it ends," he said with a cool confidence, clearly not intimidated at all by Terrador.

Terrador wasted no more words on Malefor, instantly flinging himself at the Dark Master, tackling him to the ground and trying to bite at him like a rabid dog, only to get socked in the face by a right hand from Malefor. The two began to fight, firing breath elements and throwing punches and kicks at each other.

I chose to take this moment to check on Volteer, he was just laying there, his head bleeding slightly from the impact he took earlier. "V… Volteer?" I said timidly, fearing that Malefor had already managed to pick off one of my friends.

However my spirits lifted slightly when Volteer began to stir, opening one eye and moving it in my direction, "I… I'm okay Spyro… head hurts a little but otherwise I'm fine," he said.

"GYAAAAAGH!"

A ripple of fear washed over me as I heard Terrador unleash a horrible scream of agony, I didn't want to look, but couldn't stop myself from slowly turning my head in the direction of the horrible sound. Only to find a ghastly sight.

Malefor had Terrador's front leg in his maw, blood bubbling like a crimson fountain from Terrador's caught leg. Terrador was writhing around on the floor like a trapped animal, flailing his limbs in a desperate attempt to free himself. Malefor seemed to be enjoying this, a manic look in his eyes as he watched the earth guardian struggle. Before he decided to twist his head.

Terrador's leg made a horrifying snapping noise, like a stick being broken in two, Terrador howled in horrible agony as he began to writhe on the floor, his leg snapped in half, broken. I could even see the bone poking from his emerald scales and red blood. I almost wanted to vomit at the sight, but was too horrified to even do that.

Seeing a dragon as strong as Terrador reduced to an injured, terrified broken heap was an ungodly sight I wished I could wipe from my mind. "I told you that you wouldn't like how it ended Terrador," Malefor cackled. "Look at you, the mighty guardian of earth, reduced to a simpering hatchling with one snap of the leg, you should be grateful I didn't tear it from the socket," he then growled. The sick, twisted dragon then stepped on Terrador's bad leg, putting his weight on it, causing more unbearable cries of frightful agony, I couldn't stand to watch this anymore, this maniac was trying to mutilate my friends!

I darted to the other side of the hallway, "Hey Malefor!" I called, I needed to get him away from Terrador so Volteer or anyone could help him! "You want me?! I'm right here! Come on!" I said, I knew I wasn't ready to fight him, but I can't stand to watch him torture my friends like this! Haven't they been through enough?

However, Malefor didn't come, just giving me this amused look, "Still the self sacrificing hero are we? It's good to see three years as a human has done nothing to temper that sickening sense of heroism that clouds your simple mind Spyro," he spat, "Do you think me a fool Spyro? I know what you're trying to do, you're trying to draw me away from the earth dragon, forgetting that I promised to save you for last, I told you I wished to break you, and that is exactly what I intend to do," he said before going right back to applying pressure to Terrador's broken leg.

I watched helplessly as Terrador struggled to break free, screaming bloody murder as the Dark Master continued to toy with him. "STOP IT! LET HIM GO!" I screamed as I felt my anger begin to build and build, the dark energy from before began to overtake me again, something that would normally terrify me considering last time this happened I almost killed Cynder, but right now I didn't care… hell I **welcomed** it, if anyone deserved to be killed by my darker self it was this bastard!

However Malefor seemed even more amused by this, "What's this now?" he said before I suddenly lunged at Malefor like a rabid animal, fully intent on tearing this son of a bitch apart limb from limb. However Malefor seemed more amused than bothered by my rage, "It seems you still have some of that corruption inside you after all these years, tell me Spyro, do you hate me? Do you want me to die?" He asked me.

I scratched Malefor right in the eye, causing him to grunt as he recoiled slightly, "Yes I **do**!" I snarled before I began to scratch at him wildly, I was losing more and more control by the second but I didn't care anymore, I just wanted him to go away, to stop hurting me and my friends, this bastard took my life away! Made me abandon my friends just to clean up his damn mess! I hated this asshole, I hated him more than I ever hated anything in my life! Every bad thing that has ever happened to me all lead back to this sorry excuse for a dragon! Every heartbreak, every lost friend, every bit of suffering and pain all came back to **him**! I was **done** with Malefor! Done with his sick games!

But yet Malefor didn't seem fazed by my angry lashings, keeping that goddamn smug grin on his sick twisted face. "My my, I seem to have really struck a nerve Spyro," he laughed before I felt something strike my guy with the force of a wrecking ball, sending me flying back, I tumbled across the floor of the temple until finally managing to catch myself with my claws. "However, just as with everything else, it's not nearly enough to stop me, tell me Spyro, how does it feel to be dead in two realms? Do you miss your mommy? Your little brother? The red headed best friend? Do you think they'll remember you when I slay them along with every other fool you ever came in contact with?" he said.

My anger suddenly doubled, "NO! YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM! STAY AWAY FROM EVERYONE!" I screamed, launching myself at him again, pounding on his body with every ounce of strength I had, "Stop hurting my friends! Leave them alone! You want to kill someone kill **me**! Just leave them alone!" I cried.

However Malefor just backhanded me, once again sending me tumbling ass over teakettle across the floor, "I haven't even killed one of your worthless friends and already I've driven you to the brink of insanity," he laughed, "You really **are** weak, your little friends are your greatest weakness Spyro, too concerned with the safety of these lesser creatures to focus on what's in front of you," he said before pinning me to the floor with his foot, I began to scratch at his leg with my claws, I wanted him to hurt! To suffer like every victim he's ever hurt! Every grieving friend or relative he took someone from! I wanted him to wish he was dead! "Look at you, clawing and scratching like a trapped animal, completely unable to control the dark power you currently possess, it would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic," he mocked me.

He then brought his head closer to mine, staring right into my eyes, "You are weak Spyro, too weak to stop me, even at your strongest you can only hope to delay the inevitable, everything you love, every creature you've ever foolishly tried to attach yourself to, will die by my claw, and there is **nothing** you can do to stop me," he said before suddenly releasing me.

The dark energy began to fade away, "I think I've made my point for now little Spyro, I'll allow you and your pathetic little friends to lick your wounds, but know this… I **will** come back to finish the job, you won't know when, you won't know how, but I **will** return, let that little thought keep you up at night," he said before blasting a hole in the ceiling with his earth breath and flying through, finally leaving us alone… for now.

Every bit of confidence I had gained from learning earth had been completely shattered by Malefor, even as that dark version of myself I couldn't even dent him, I was hopelessly outmatched, I can't stop him… I can't protect my friends… my friends… oh my god! "Terrador!" I cried.

I rushed over to the fallen earth guardian, his legs was a horrifying mangled mess of flesh, bone, and blood, Terrador's face contorted into an expression of pure agony, I shuddered to think of how much pain the poor dragon was in right now. I suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps draw closer, Sparx's buzzing wings rushing close to my head, "Spyro? You okay? Where's Male-" Sparx began before being immediately silence by the sight of Terrador's leg. "Holy crap! What happened to Terrador?!" He asked.

But I couldn't answer, this was all my fault, this only happened because he was trying to protect me, because I pissed off Malefor by rejecting his offer. He'd probably never be able to walk right ever again! God… he might even **lose** his leg!

Cynder and Cyril soon joined us in the room both of them shocked and horrified by what had become of poor Terrador. But I couldn't even bring myself to look them in the eyes, I brought this here, it was all my fault… I'm so sorry Terrador… you didn't deserve this…

"Spyro," I looked up to see Volteer looming over me, "I need to tend to Terrador's leg, before infection sets in," he said, I nodded and took a step back, tears forming in my eyes as Volteer began to try to pop Terrador's bones back into place, causing more painful cries from Terrador.

Cynder soon joined my side, "He's going to be okay Spyro," she tried to reassure me, why did this have to happen? Why couldn't Malefor just stay trapped? Why do good people have to suffer? It wasn't right…

Cynder began to nuzzle me, trying her best to comfort me as Cyril and Volteer carried Terrador off to have his wounds treated, all the while I knew that this was only the beginning, that with every second passed, Malefor loomed in the shadows… waiting to strike again… and I was completely powerless to stop it…

* * *

 **A/N: Looks like Terrador doesn't have a… leg to stand on!**

 ***Random Audience Member punches me in the face***

 **Random Audience Member: STOP!**

 **Fine! Geeze… you guys are no fun at all…**


	13. High Hopes

**Chapter 12: High Hopes**

* * *

An aura of dread hung over the Dragon Temple ever since Terrador's injury, Volteer was legitimately concerned he might lose the leg, which did nothing but worsen my guilt. I can't believe I let this happen, Malefor was only doing this to get to **me** , now Terrador might lose his leg, he might never be able to walk right again, all because of me. Maybe I **should** have taken his offer? If anything just to spare everyone else this horrible suffering.

"Spyro," I turned to see Cynder standing behind me, "Are you okay? You haven't said a word since we took Terrador to get his leg treated," she asked me. I apparently wasn't hiding my worry very well. Do I dare even tell her? What would she think of me **almost** agreeing to abandon them again? I knew Cynder still held some anger towards me over leaving her for three years, the idea I would ditch them for my old life would probably only serve to open the floodgates.

I took a deep breath, "He's only doing this to get to me," I said, Cynder tilted her head, confused as to what I meant, "Malefor, he's doing this to try to break me, because… because..." I said, struggling to make the words come out of my throat, but they refused to come, too afraid of what Cynder's reaction would be to dare escape my lips.

Cynder noticed this instantly, "Spyro it's alright, whatever it is you need to tell me, just say it," she coaxed me, she was just trying to be supportive, but she didn't understand the bombshell I was about to drop on her.

But I knew I had to bite the bullet now, she's only keep asking if I didn't say anything, "During that dream I had, the one I woke up screaming from? Malefor made me an offer," I explained, I noticed Cynder's expression harden slightly, telling me that it wasn't going to take much to get her to deck me again, but I can't lie to her, "He… he offered to let me go back to my life as a human," I said.

Cynder stayed silent for a moment, her expression still as stone, "And what did you say?" she asked me, I could easily just tell her I refused him, it was the truth, I **did** refuse him, but she deserved to know the whole story.

So, with a deep breath, I began to explain, "I won't lie Cynder, I seriously considered it, after all that happened, Cyril's outburst, Terrador attacking me, the fact I never got to say goodbye to my human friends, all the pain I've caused you and everyone else, I felt like it would have been better if I just left," I admitted, Cynder's expression didn't change, I couldn't tell if she was mad at me or not, she was making herself **very** hard to read. "But… I couldn't do it, every time I went to accept I kept seeing your face, remembering the pain I put you through… how hard you were working just to help me regain what I lost here, I couldn't abandon you again… especially not because of me being a coward and things being too hard for me to handle, it wasn't fair to you, Sparx, The Guardians, anyone! So I refused him, it was among the hardest things I ever had to do, but I did it, he got furious that I refused his offer, and that's when he threatened to kill all of you guys," I finished.

Cynder stayed silent for a moment, making me fear she was angry with me, however, her expression softened, "That must have been so hard for you to do," she said before wrapping her neck around mine, a quadruped version of a hug, "I'm so proud of you Spyro," she said.

Wait… she was **proud** of me? But… I almost left her! **Again**! She should be furious! "I… I don't understand… I almost left you guys again! Wh… why aren't you mad at me?!" I asked, trying to make heads or tails of this but was unable to do so.

Cynder giggled a little bit, "Because you **still** said no, because you **still** chose to sacrifice what you longed for the most just for **our** sake," She explained, "Spyro, you're way too hard on yourself, anyone would have considered that offer, hell if I were in your shoes, I probably would have too, that life might have not been your **real** life, but I know the people in it meant a lot to you, but you didn't accept, you chose to be selfless and stay just to spare our feelings and try to make up for those long three years you've been gone, be proud of that, you're better than you give yourself credit for," she told me.

I sniffled a little, it was hard to think of myself as selfless after nearly running away from it all like a coward, "But that doesn't change the fact Malefor's trying to kill you all because of me, Terrador would have never got his leg mangled if it weren't for me," I said.

Cynder just shook her head, "Malefor would have come after us anyway, you choosing to stay means you're here to **do** something about it," she replied. That sounded good on paper, but in truth, I knew full well how useless I was against him right now.

I shook my head, "I can't beat him Cynder! Even when I got taken over by that darkness again I couldn't even so much as scratch him!" I said, Cynder seemed a **bit** unsettled by the fact I got taken over by that dark energy thing again.

But she quickly shook it off, "You're not at full power yet, Spyro… if you couldn't beat Malefor, why do you think he made that offer to you in the first place?" she asked me, "You think he did that out of the kindness of his heart? He wanted you out of the way Spyro because he **knows** you can beat him, you just need to work at it is all," she explained.

You know, she had a point, why else **would** Malefor offer me my human life back? Because he could? Or was it that he simply knew that I could beat him, I mean, I did it once, why not again? Hopefully, **without** dying this time. I just needed to regain my elements was all, yeah… **that** 's all… easier said than done doesn't even begin to describe that.

Just then, Volteer joined us in the hall, I turned to him, "H… how is he?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly, afraid I would learn that Terrador had to have his leg removed or something equally ghastly.

Volteer sighed, "Thankfully, the damage wasn't serious enough for him to lose the leg, but he probably won't be able to walk for a while," he explained. Well at least it wasn't as bad as it **could** have been, that had to count for something right? "Although he lost a lot of blood during his fight with Malefor, he's resting for now, hopefully when he wakes up he'll be feeling a bit better," he added. Volteer's speech and tone was… odd.

Usually when he spoke, he spoke very quickly, using complex vocabulary, but he was doing neither here, his tone was instead somber, withdrawn. It was clear Terrador's injury was really effecting him, showing just how close The Guardians were to each other. "I suggest you two go find something to do in the meantime, clear your heads, get this… horrible happenstance out of your minds, hopefully by the time you return Terrador will recover at least a little bit," he said.

Cynder and I looked to each other, realizing he was simply trying to allow us to get away for a bit, away from the aura of worry that hung over the temple like a dark cloud. Cynder and I agreed, taking our leave. Albeit with a bit of reluctance on my part, I knew Malefor wasn't done with my friends, not by a long shot, thoughts of him attacking The Guardians again while I was gone plagued my mind as Cynder and I stepped out into the city.

I guess that was the worst part about it all, that I never knew **when** or **where** Malefor would strike next, just that he would do it. I have no doubt in my mind that was intentional, he was trying to break me, what better way to drive that home than to plague me with worry and paranoia?

However those thoughts suddenly became tabled when Cynder and I were met with an empty Warfang, no a single soul was out on the streets, every window shutter slammed closed. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Spyro! Look," called Cynder, I turned and approached her, but suddenly froze when I saw what she found, there, laying on his side, was the dead body of a city guard, a dragon, discarded in the snow like a piece of garbage, his face permanently fixed to a fearful gaze, his tongue hung loosely from his wide open maw, however… upon further inspection, I recognized this poor dragon that laid dead before me.

I looked down sadly at the fallen dragon, "Tremor..." I said softly, the very guard that found me that night I returned to this world, who brought me to Karius to keep me out of the cold, now laid dead, his neck snapped like a twig, horrible burn marks and lacerations peppered his green scales, showing he had tried to fight back, but ultimately lost. I admit, I didn't know Tremor very well, but I still felt sad to see him like this, I slowly reached my claws to his eyelids, shutting them. I had never seen a corpse before, not a real one anyway, it wasn't like in a video game or movie where you knew it wasn't real. The very idea of the corpse alone made me feel a mix of nausea and horror, the fact it was someone I've **met** before made it so much worse, I had talked to this dragon, I knew his name, his voice, seeing him as an empty, lifeless shell was an awful sight to behold.

Cynder stood next to me, "You knew him?" she asked me. I didn't answer at first, just staring sadly at the corpse of what used to be the kindly guard who helped me at my lowest point, without him, I probably would have died out there in the cold.

However, "Yeah… he found me the night I came back to the Dragon Realms, he brought me to the homeless shelter to spend the night," I explained. I knew that Malefor had to have been the one to do this, Tremor must have saw him try to break into the temple and was trying to stop him. Sacrificing his life to try to protect the city he loved. I looked around and saw Tremor wasn't the only corpse Malefor made on his way to attacking the temple, as more dead guards littered the grounds surrounding the temple, none of which I recognized, some weren't even dragons, some were moles, and I even saw the occasional cheetah among the slain guards.

Cynder looked around in horror at the scene, "They must have been trying to stop Malefor from attacking the temple," She said, seeing all this carnage, brave strangers heartlessly slaughtered by the Dark Master like cattle, knowing that this had only happened because Malefor was trying to get to me, it was too much to take in. Cynder quickly noticed the tears begin to build in my eyes as they gazed upon these slain strangers who were just trying to do their jobs, "Spyro this isn't your fault, Malefor killed these people, not you," she tried to comfort me.

But seeing this bloodbath, knowing it was me he was after, it was a horrible feeling. "Spyro… look at me," Cynder said, grabbing my jaw in her claws, forcing me to look her in the eyes, "This isn't your fault," she said, far more sternly this time. "You burden yourself with every death you have even the slightest connection with, you'll drive yourself insane, trust me, I know," she said, "The best thing we can do for them is make their deaths mean something, stop Malefor," she told me.

I nodded, eyes still filled with tears "O...Okay," I said before Cynder and I left this ghastly sight behind. I knew where I wanted to go though, Karius was friends with Tremor, he deserved to know what become of him. God, I hope Karius was alright, Malefor had mentioned him by name among my other friends he planned to slay, I'd hate to think he got caught in this horrible slaughter.

We finally arrived at the homeless shelter, it was just as it was when I left it, sending some hope through my heart that Karius was sparred from this horrible attack, "Spyro… what are we doing here? What is this place?" Cynder asked me.

I turned to her, "The homeless shelter I mentioned earlier, the owner Karius was close to Tremor, he… he deserves to know what happened,"I explained. I knocked on the door, it took a few moments but eventually the door was unlocked and opened.

Karius' face was that of relief, "Spyro! You gave me a bit of a scare there lad! I was afraid you might be Malefor or something," he said before noticing Cynder, "And you seem to have brought a friend," he said before letting us both in.

Inside were the homeless creatures of Warfang, they all looked terrified, huddled in a bunch against the far wall. It was only now that I put two and two together and realized why the city was so empty, everyone **saw** Malefor enter the city, they were scared… hiding… afraid to become his next victim. "Spyro, by any chance, have you seen Tremor? He left to help his fellows defend the temple an hour ago," Karius asked.

I felt a knot in my stomach as Karius asked this, knowing full well what had become of his friend, "I… I'm sorry Karius… he didn't make it, we found his body among his fellow guards just outside the temple," I explained.

I could practically hear Karius' heart hit the floor upon hearing this, his eyes darting back and forth in disbelief. I hated doing this to him, but he was my friend, he deserved to know what happened to Tremor. Karius took a moment to breathe, "Karius? Are you going to be alright?" I asked him.

Karius forced a laugh, his eyes wet with tears, "I...I'll be fine Spyro," he said, his voice trembling slightly, "I just… he was a dear friend, it's… going to take a while for me to process all of this is all," he said. Seeing the usually jovial Karius like this was pretty hard to say the least, sad and grieving. "At least he went down protecting his city with his brothers in arms, it's… what he would have wanted…" he added.

How did everything go downhill so quickly? I mean, things weren't exactly sunshine and rainbows before, but now? Everyone was terrified, Terrador was injured, Tremor dead, how can one dragon do **so** much to so many people? Karius quickly wiped his tears from his eyes, "Let's not focus on that for now," he said, clearly just wanting to get Tremor off his mind, "Who are these two you brought here today? Old friends of yours I assume?" he asked, referring to Cynder and Sparx.

I nodded, letting Karius have this chance to get his mind off his dead friend, "Yeah, they've been helping me regain my life here since I met them," I explained.

Cynder stepped forward, "I'm Cynder, I'm… sure you've heard my name before," she said with slight hesitation, knowing full well of her own reputation among the inhabitants of Warfang.

Karius nodded, "That I have, your black scales probably should have tipped me off, nice to meet you," he said with a laugh, "And the dragonfly?" he asked, referring to Sparx.

"That's Sparx, my foster brother," I said, Sparx buzzed around the shelter, checking it out no doubt.

"Yeesh, this place is a dump," he commented, once again displaying his woeful lack of tact. This guy **just** lost one of his best friends Sparx, and here you are mocking his shelter? Really dude?

Karius laughed a little, "Yeah, it's seen better days, money's tight, more so now that Malefor's returned," he explained. He then turned to me, "Spyro… you're going to stop him right? Malefor I mean?" he asked me.

I didn't know how to answer, I still wasn't one hundred percent sure I **could** stop Malefor, but at the same time, I wanted to at least **try** , I couldn't sit there and let Malefor do this to these people, it wasn't right, it was beyond just him hurting my friends, he was hurting **everyone**. "I'm going to try," I said.

Karius stared at me for a minute, I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but then, "Spyro… you need to do more than just "try", Malefor is an evil, sadistic son of a bitch, please Spyro… you **need** to stop him, don't let Tremor have died for nothin'," he said.

I nodded, "I… I'm not sure I **can** , he's so strong… and I'm only just starting to relearn my breath powers, I want to stop him, I want to protect everyone from him, but..." I began but Karius stopped me.

"But nothin'," he said rather sternly, "Now is not the time to let doubt creep in your wee head lad, you gotta be strong, confident, you've beaten that bastard before, you can do it again," he said, trying to give me confidence.

Cynder approached me, "Karius is right Spyro, we **can** stop him, together, just like before," she told me. Yeah, that was another concern I had, **last** time. Last time I fought the old Dark Master I kinda **died,** I don't want to die again, I've only **just** started to pick up the pieces to my old life here, I wasn't prepared to lose it all again.

But Malefor couldn't be left alone either, he was just going to keep killing people if I didn't at least **try** to stop him. I looked to the homeless creatures in the room, they all seemed to be staring at me, I could see frightful tears forming in some of their eyes. I almost forgot they were even in the room, I realized I had so many people, not just my friends, but **everyone** in the city depending on me to protect them.

Talk about pressure right? How can I protect them when I couldn't even so much as annoy Malefor let alone **stop** him. I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, all of these people, and **I** was the only one standing between them and their own destruction. "Come on Spyro!" said Sparx, "You're the purple dragon! If anyone can stop that ugly jerk it's you!" He said.

My friends all believed in me, despite everything they all believed in me, the realistic side of me wanted to say I didn't have a chance in hell of stopping Malefor, I was terrified of him, I have been ever since I started having those dreams as Jason. But now I was being forced to confront that fear, and everyone was counting on me to do it. I nodded, "Yeah… just gotta have a little hope right?" I said to Sparx.

Sparx gave me a little thumbs up, "That's the spirit!" he said. It was hard to hope in a situation this bleak, but I owed it to these people to at least **try** to rise to the challenge and be the hero they clearly needed. I wasn't dumb though, I knew my chances of winning were slim to none, but I had to at least cling to some kind of hope that I could save everyone.

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

After we said our goodbyes to everyone in the shelter, Cynder and I began to walk through the still quite empty streets. "Karius is quite the character," commented Cynder, "I'm glad you met someone as kind as he is when you first came back," she added.

I nodded, "Me too," I said, "Cynder… do you really think I can win? Against Malefor?" I asked her.

Cynder sighed, "I can't lie Spyro, I don't know for sure, anything can happen," she said, I was afraid of that, "However, you aren't going to be doing it alone, I'll be right there with you," she said.

I wanted to take some hope in that, but Malefor was so powerful, so terrifying, even **with** Cynder's help I didn't know if I could win. But I was going to try regardless, I kinda had no choice really, I couldn't sit there and watch him kill my friends, no decent person would. I just hope that I don't end up dying again, or worse taking Cynder with me.

Gotta have high hopes right?

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted to have a scene similar to the one in the original where Spyro realized what was at stake, where he had to give some hope to the people of Warfang, but without it being cartoonishly forced and aggressively cheesy like the original one. I think I did an okay job with it personally.**


	14. Of Supermen and Wonder Women

**Chapter 13: Of Supermen and Wonder Women**

* * *

We decided to spend the rest of the day at Cynder's house., the events of today had taken their toll on all of us, the attack on the temple, Terrador's injury, the dead guards, it had been a rough day to say the least. I still felt a bit of the fear from what Malefor had planned for my friends, that he could strike at any moment, that would make it quite difficult to even attempt to sleep tonight. But for whatever reason, I felt safe here, sitting in front of the fireplace with Cynder sitting next to me, I knew I really wasn't, I mean, let's be real, Malefor could easily blow this place over. But something about this place offered some form of security for some reason.

Maybe it was the fireplace? It reminded me of my first night in this world, being cozy next to the fireplace of Karius' shelter after being out in the cold for so long. The first show of kindness I had ever experienced in this world since my return, It was amazing how such simple things can become symbols of security, our metaphorical safety blankets, something so mundane to take juvenile comfort in, provide us brief respite from the hellish situations we found ourselves constantly surrounded by. Just one moment where I can at least pretend everything is alright if only just briefly.

But I knew even **this** wouldn't last, I would love nothing more than to just lay here forever, my friends by my side, safe and cozy by the fireplace, but I knew eventually I would have to abandon this sense of security, Malefor wasn't going to wait for me forever, the only form of solace I could take from this whole situation was that he wasn't trying to destroy the world… yet. He was more interested in revenge right now. Actually, thinking about it, that wasn't really **comforting** at all was it? It's more of a "pick your poison" kind of scenario, either he kills the world or kills your friends, neither prospect was particularly fun, honestly him killing my friends was technically the better option since the world would still **be** there, it would just be horrible for **me** specifically.

God, I long for the days when my biggest worry was whether Half Life Three was ever going to be a thing or not. Such trivial worries for such a simple life, it was amazing how much you missed simple things like that when you knew you could never experience them again, when your life has moved beyond what you once knew, plopped into a new world where those things didn't even exist, the things I used to love forever out of reach. But I made my choice during that nightmare, I chose to stay here, that keeping my friends safe and happy was more important to me than regaining a simple life.

I still wondered if I made the right choice, part of me wanted to believe I did, that doing what was right was it's own reward. But another part of me still wondered if maybe this world would have been better without Spyro, the enemies he attracted, the horrible emotions he brought out in those who had grieved him. But it was too late now, I made my choice and fully intended to stand by that choice.

I had to stay now, someone had to stand up to Malefor, to say no, be the hero this world needed. It's funny, I remember being a kid and always wanting to be a super hero, every other kid when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up said they wanted to be a cop, or a doctor, or even a sports star, me? I wanted to be Superman, fly through the city, stop the bad guy, and save the day.

In a strange sort of way, I was getting that wish, I **could** fly, I was currently trying to stop the bad guy, and was working on saving the day as well. By every definition, Spyro was a real life superhero, this powerful, larger than life force for good that stood between the innocent and those who wished them harm. I just haven't regained my super powers yet is all. I guess looking at it like that, my situation wasn't **so** bad after all.

But there was still the matter of **beating** Malefor, I wanted to believe I could do it, become that superhero, save the day, like the comics I used to read, but this wasn't a comic book, this was real life, and in the real world, heroes didn't **always** win. It was hard for me to be confident in myself, especially after how easily Malefor beat me today.

I just watched the fires of the fireplace dance in front of my eyes, sparking and crackling in the otherwise silent house, wondering how I could stop Malefor from destroying everything I currently held so dear, my memories were still locked away save for the very few I managed to recover over the course of these past few days, but something buried deep wanted so badly to protect everyone here, to be their Superman, but I _wasn't_ Superman, I couldn't stop a speeding train or deflect a bullet with my bare skin alone, I was just Spyro, a dragon who happened to be born purple, with all the magical nonsense that apparently came with that.

Magic I couldn't even use, I could shoot rocks sure, but every other element was currently blocked off, sealed away deep within my subconscious with the rest of my memories. It was frustrating really, being told I had all of this power but not being able to access any of it, like an arbitrary unlock in an MMORPG. You can't use your mystical purple dragon powers until you reach level sixty Spyro! So you'd better start grinding! Grind what you ask? I dunno, figure it out you purple putz!

I suddenly heard the floorboards next to me creek slightly, I turned my head to see Cynder laying herself next to me, "You're awfully quiet tonight Spyro, a lot on your mind?" she asked me.

I guess I wasn't hiding my introspection very well, "Just thinking over everything is all," I answered.

Cynder nodded, "I can imagine, a lot's happened today," she commented, "But still, you'll figure it out, you always do," she added. Did I though? I mean, this whole mess started because I couldn't think of a better way to fix the world than to ravage my own body to the point where the gods of this world had to ship me off to another world while I was in the shop for repairs. Not exactly something that happens to someone who always has the answers is all I'm saying.

I sighed, "Cynder… be honest with me… how good **are** my chances against Malefor?" I asked her. I just wanted to know how much I should really be worrying about this whole Malefor thing.

Cynder thought about it for a moment, I don't know if she was just trying to figure out the answer, or was stalling because she knew I wouldn't like the answer. "Right now? Not very good," she said. Yeah I kinda figured **that** out earlier today Cynder. "But… once we get your breath elements back, I think you can do it," she added.

I chuckled at the idea, knowing she was just trying to give me some confidence, "Last time I had all my elements and I wound up having to sacrifice myself to fix his mess, not exactly something I want to repeat Cynder," I said.

Cynder chuckled a little, "Well I sure **hope** not, I've only **just** gotten used to you being back, I'd like to keep you around a little longer if you don't mind," she said, a warm smile on her face, however it quickly faded, "I always dreaded this day coming, Malefor returning, even when The Ancestors first sealed him away I knew in the back of my mind that he would find a way out, he always does," she said, her tone rather somber, soft, almost withdrawn. "It scared me more knowing you wouldn't be there to stop him, I've lost count of how many times I've had nightmares about it," she continued, "But… now that you're here… I don't feel as afraid anymore… I feel like, the two of us, when we're together… we're invincible, no one can touch us," she said.

"Like Superman and Wonder Woman," I said without thinking, Cynder did a double take, of course she wouldn't know who those people were, careful Spyro, your **geek** is showing. God how do I explain comic book super heroes to a dragon from a sword and sorcery world? "They're these… story characters from that other world I used to live in," I began to explain, "They're supposed to be the most powerful people in their world, "superheroes" we call them, these unstoppable champions of justice, it… what you said made me think of them," I said rather sheepishly, god what **must** Cynder be thinking right now? That I sound like a total dork? Yeah, that's probably it, better think of something to salvage this situation, "Wonder Woman even has the same bracelets..." I said awkwardly, not really helping the situation there dude.

Cynder didn't seem to completely understand what I was talking about, but she realized the meaning behind it, "I wear them to remind me of what I was before you found me," she explained, making my comparison even **more** awkward, good job Spyro you dork, "But I get what you're saying, we are heroes Spyro, sometimes we just need reminding," she said.

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess so," I said, trying to get over my embarrassment of going full nerd on poor Cynder. This Spyro, is why you've never had a girlfriend.

Cynder then lowered her head, "Alright "Superman", we should get some sleep, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, and "Wonder Woman" wants to be up bright and early to get started," she said. Yeah I was going to regret that little comparison for the rest of my life wasn't I? God I'm such a nerd…

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

My eyes opened to a familiar looking empty forest, the same one from that nightmare I had back when I was still Jason, I cautiously rose to my feet, remembering what happened the **last** time I found myself here. The forest was still as foreboding as it was back then, still as oppressive, hateful, and dark. I slowly began to walk forward, wondering why I was here again, I already connected with most of my past friends.

The forest was still empty though, barren, not a sign of even one of the dream versions of my friends, or that other me that was sometimes Malefor for some reason. I was alone, truly alone.

"Are you so certain young dragon?"

I turned to see Ignitus sitting behind one of the dead trees, in his Chronicler form thankfully and not that horrifically burned version I ran into the last time I was in this forest, "I must say though, your subconscious could do with a more welcoming environment," he joked.

I just stared at him, "What's going on? How are you even here?" I asked, I figured Malefor was just using some weird purple dragon power to invade my dreams, why was Ignitus here?

Ignitus, smiled, "Malefor isn't the only one with the power to influence dreams young dragon," he said with a wink, "As for what's going on, I'm trying to protect your dreaming world from Malefor's manipulation, only one being can do it at a time, so I filled the slot so he could not," he explained.

So he was trying to protect my dreams? Okay, that's kinda weird, but if it spares me from having to see Malefor's ugly mug again I'll take it. "How does he do it exactly? Manipulate dreams I mean?" I asked Ignitus.

"The purple dragon has many powers at his claws Spyro," said Ignitus, "It is a difficult power to learn, but dreams can be controlled like any other element, think of it as a "dream breath" as it were," he explained. "But that is not the only thing on your mind right now, is it young dragon?" he then asked me.

God am I just **that** easy to read? "I don't know, I guess I'm just worried I'm in over my head, the last time I fought Malefor, I barely even scratched him, how am I supposed to beat someone like that?" I asked him.

Ignitus nodded, "You know how to win Spyro, I'm not the one you should be asking this question, it is one you need to ask yourself, for only you truly know the answer," he said. Thanks for the cryptic nonsense Ignitus! Big help. "You are a purple dragon Spyro, you alone have the power to set things right, you just need to find it again, trust yourself," he added.

"But how? Last time I had to kill myself to "set things right"! I don't wanna do that again! I **can't**! Please Ignitus! I'm so scared! I don't know what to do! He's threatening my friends! He almost **killed** Terrador! You should have seen Warfang today Ignitus, everyone was too scared to even step foot outside, the streets full of corpses of guards who died trying to protect them, I can't get the images out of my mind! Please, tell me what to do! Tell me how to stop it all! I feel so helpless, so weak! I just want it all to stop!" I pleaded with The Chronicler.

Ignitus began to stroke my head, my head fins flattening under his paw only to spring back up after each gentle stroke, "I wish I could Spyro, but this is something you need to figure out on your own, all I can do is offer you my guidance, it's **your** mind Spyro not mine, only **you** can unlock it's secrets," he explained, "But I **do** know that you are **not** weak **or** helpless Spyro, you are one of the strongest dragons I've ever known, even now without memories, you are **strong** , you've endured more struggles than any dragon should have to in their lifetime, but yet here you stand, unwavering, still willing to sacrifice it all just to protect your world, same as you always were, perhaps you lack faith, but never strength," he said.

You know, he was right, I've been through so much these past few days, but yet… I somehow managed to keep from losing my mind, sure I came close to giving up, and even **did** at one point, but I still managed to pick myself back up and keep going, "This is just one last hurdle you need to get over Spyro, one last struggle to overcome, and then you can finally have the peace you deserve," he said.

Everything began to fade into white, "Wait! I have so many more questions! How do I relearn fire?! Can I actually beat Malefor?! Wait! WAIT!" I cried, but the dream suddenly ended with a thud.

* * *

 _ **Reality…**_

* * *

A loud thud of something falling on the floor to be specific, my eyes opened to see the… corpse of a deer?! EEEWW! I scrambled to my feet, what the hell is going on?! I heard laughter as Cynder came into view, "Sorry Spyro, I didn't mean to startle you," she said between laughs.

I just stared at her in disbelief, why the hell would she **do** that?! She had to kill a deer in order to pull this prank! That was kinda messed up, something a **serial killer** does! "What is wrong with you!? Why would you just drop an animal corpse in front of someone like that?!" I asked.

Cynder seemed strangely confused by this outburst, "Because we need to eat breakfast?" She said, breakfast? That's not breakfast it's a… oh… oh god no… she doesn't mean…?

I slowly craned my head towards the deer carcass, she wanted me to **eat** that didn't she? The very idea made knots in my stomach, I was no vegan by **any** stretch, I liked my meat as much as the next guy, but… I've never eaten anything that… uh… still had it's face… I guess I got off lucky with Karius and his eggs. "Y… you can't be serious…" I said.

Cynder reacted like I was that whiny costumer at a restaurant that was complaining his steak wasn't cooked all the way, just this annoyed, bewildered stare, "Oh I'm **serious** ," she said, "You need to eat Spyro! When's the last time you ate something?" She asked me.

I didn't want to answer that question, it had been about two days since I last ate, although I never felt hungry during that time, I don't know if it was just that I was distracted all the crap I've had to deal with over this little adventure of mine of if dragons could just go longer without food than humans, but still…

However, it seems even my stomach was on Cynder's side as it made it's point quite loudly with a growl, "See? You **are** hungry!" Cynder said, thanks stomach, you traitor! "Now stop acting like a fussy hatchling and eat the stupid deer!" she scolded me, not unlike a mother trying to get her child to eat his greens.

"Yes **mom** ," I said dryly. God, I'm **not** going to enjoy this, I spent an embarrassing amount of time just staring at the dead deer, I can't believe I'm about to do this, I shut my eyes and opened my maw, slowly reaching my head towards the carcass, I jammed my maw shut the second my teeth pierced the deer, the oh so delightful taste of fur and dried blood assaulted my tongue with a horrible flavor that almost made me gag. God, was this really how dragons ate? It seemed so uncivilized for a race that had their own cities and systems of government.

The meat was horrible, flavorless and rough, memories of being told in health class why you should never eat raw meat played over and over in my mind as I began to reluctantly chew the awful food I've been forced to inflict upon my mouth. Knowing Cynder was going to want me to take more bites than this one, why are you tormenting me like this Cynder? Is this payback for the three years I made you grieve over my loss?

Speaking of Cynder, she began to dig into the deer too, how she was able to stomach this horrible meal I'd **never** know. I guess she was just used to eating like this, as opposed to me who was used to his meats being… well… a little more prepared.

I swallowed the horrible meat, the after taste was horrendous, a tinge of iron with the distinct pallet of wet fur, appetizing stuff. "Spyro? You okay? You look like you're about to puke?" asked Sparx,

I turned to my foster brother, "Oh I'm okay… just… oh god… that was awful," I said, fighting back my gag reflex. "This is… a bit different to how we ate meat in the human world," I added.

Cynder just rolled her eyes at this, "You're not a human Spyro, you're a dragon, stop being so fussy and eat!" she said, her mouth full of food too, I guess **manners** were also only for stupid fussy humans along with prepared meats.

Sparx seemed to be of the same mind as I was though, just sort of staring in revulsion at the dead carcass Cynder was demanding I stuff my face with. "Yeah… you two… **do** that, I'm gonna go over there and try not to puke," he said before flying off.

I stared at the carcass again, knowing Cynder expected me to take another bite, but was in no hurry to actually **take** that bite, must I? Ugh… I never thought I'd **want** Malefor to pop by for another visit, but quite frankly, I'd take any chance to avoid eating this thing.

Thankfully, salvation came in the form of a knock on the door, whoever this was would forever be my hero, "You keep eating! I'll see who it is," she said. Dammit! So close, but yet so far…

As I took another horrible, reluctant bite, Cynder cracked the door open to reveal it was Hunter at the door, however he was a little worse for wear, as he had a nasty burn mark on his shoulder, his cape around that area blackened and torn slightly, the mark was huge, taking up his entire left shoulder and even a bit of his chest, "Hunter! What happened?! Are you alright?!" Cynder asked as she caught the cheetah before he could collapse from his injury.

Cynder leaned him against the wall, Hunter took a moment to collect himself before responding, "Malefor… he… he came out of nowhere while I was out hunting in the forest, got me right in the shoulder with a fireball, I managed to slip away before he could finish me off," He said between painful winces. I swallowed the bite of meat I took, I didn't even notice the aftertaste this time, too crestfallen another one of my friends got injured by that damn Malefor. I guess I should be grateful he hasn't **killed** anyone yet, but still, I'd rather they not get hurt at all.

I walked over to get a closer look, he looked bad, severely burned, it made me worry Malefor did so intentionally, out of some sick twisted desire to make Hunter suffer more. "Spyro, I'm okay, it's not as bad as it looks," Hunter said, noticing my worried stare, but somehow I didn't buy that, no way that didn't hurt like hell! It would probably even leave one nasty scar too.

Cynder didn't seem to buy it either, "Don't be a tough guy Hunter, we need to get you to a healer before it gets infected," she said before turning to me, "Help me get him to his feet," she told me.

Cynder and I both helped Hunter to his feet, leading him out the door and supposedly to a healer of some sort, "It's nothing Cynder, I've hurt a **lot** worse than this," Hunter protested, but we were having none of it, I wasn't about to lose a friend to this bastard, not like this!

Soon we came upon a large building, a sign with a red cross painted on it hung from it's side, it was kind of surreal seeing a symbol so familiar in this world, no different than the red crosses depicted on health packs in video games.

We entered the building to find it full of guards being tended to by moles, cheetahs, and other dragons, strangely they were using weird gems on the dragon patients, they glowed with an odd red energy, which after a few moments of being pressed against the dragon's bodies, soon faded, as if being absorbed by the dragons.

The phenomena was surreal to say the least, but why did it only seem to be being used on dragons? Maybe they only **worked** on dragons? But if so, why?

However, my weird fascination with these strange healing gems was tabled by Cynder's voice, "Help! We need a healer!" she called, two healers, one cheetah and one mole, came rushing over, without another word they took Hunter, leading him to one of the few free cots in the room.

I just looked around the room at all the injured creatures that were being tended to, it seems that Malefor hurt a lot more people yesterday than I thought, at least, that was what I was **assuming** happened here. The law of averages meant that at least a few of them were here for unrelated reasons, but the horrible burn marks on some of them left little to the imagination.

Hunter meanwhile, he was currently being treated by the cheetah healer, who was working on removing his cape so she could get at his wound. Hunter's shoulder looked even **worse** with the cape removed, his shoulder was charred like an overcooked steak, the fur singed away from his shoulder all the way down to his left pectoral muscle. "This needs to be bandaged before it gets infected," the healer said, she then reached into a drawer next to the cot, producing a roll of bandages and began to apply them to the wound.

All the while, I kept thinking of how I now had **two** friends now that were horribly injured by Malefor, I should have known he'd go after Hunter, he was the easiest to get to after all, since Hunter went out into the woods often, Malefor didn't have to worry about any guards getting in his way. Thank god Hunter somehow managed to get away before he could finish him off.

"Come on Spyro, Hunter's in good hands now, we should head to the temple and get back to retraining you, we'll check on Hunter afterwards okay?" Cynder told me. Yeah, I didn't want to linger here anymore, seeing all these hurt people was doing a number on my conscience.

So we left the building, along with Hunter, "I can't believe I didn't think to warn him," said more to myself than Cynder, how could I be so stupid? I should have gone out to find Hunter! Warn him that Malefor was targeting my friends! Now he was injured.

However, Cynder shook her head "Oh no! Don't go blaming yourself for this one too!" she scolded me, catching me off guard, "Don't you think you've beaten yourself up enough already? This isn't on you, you can't go blaming yourself for every person Malefor tries to kill," she said.

I sighed, "I know, but… we should have tried to find him, warn him," I said, but Cynder stopped me.

"Maybe, but we can't change that now, the best thing we can do, is focus on reteaching you your elements so you can prevent this from happening to anyone else," she told me.

She was right, I needed to focus, I needed to be able to prevent this from happening to anyone else, and the best way I could do that was train myself, become strong enough to protect them.

I was strong, just like Ignitus said, I can still stop this, I haven't lost yet…

* * *

 **A/N: Ah you gotta love the old comedy "eating the dead deer" scene, I almost wasn't going to do it, but ultimately decided this story needed a little levity.**


	15. Thunderstruck

**Chapter 14: Thunderstruck**

* * *

Getting over what happened to Hunter was difficult, I didn't like seeing friends get hurt, even if I didn't have too many memories of them. But I needed to strengthen my resolve, work towards getting strong enough to protect them.

Cynder and I entered the temple, I still felt kind of weird coming here, I guess it was just left over anxiety from how Terrador and Cyril initially reacted to me, granted, Cyril **still** hated me, but Terrador had softened up to me considerably since we first met. I just hope he's feeling better than how we left him yesterday.

Speaking of Terrador, "Terrador you shouldn't be up and about! Your leg hasn't amply healed yet! You could re-injure it!" we heard Volteer scream from the other room.

Cynder and I cautiously followed the noise, we found Volteer trying in vain to get Terrador back into the infirmary, "I'm fine Volteer! I don't need to be babied!" protested Terrador. Well I guess Terrador **was** feeling better, or at least, **he** thought he was.

Volteer on the other hand? "Your leg is still broken Terrador! Not to mention how much blood you've lost already! You need to rest! To let it heal!" he argued. Volteer was right of course, Terrador was keeping his bad leg tucked in like an injured dog would, it was wrapped in bandages, stained brown from the now dried blood from his wound. His eyes looked tired, worn, like he hadn't slept since yesterday. He certainly didn't look like he should be on his feet, let alone walking.

Soon Cyril arrived on the scene, noticing Terrador immediately, "Ancestors sake, not again!" He groaned before attempting to help Volteer usher Terrador back into the infirmary, "How many times do we have to tell you not to walk on your bad leg Terrador? Honestly! You're gonna end up losing it at this rate!" He said.

But Terrador was having none of it, "It's just a little sprain! I'm fine!" He protested. A little sprain?! His leg was snapped in two like a Kit-Kat! The whole thing reminded me of the Black Knight scene from Monty Python, this prideful idiot who was underselling his very serious injuries, except **that** was played for laughs, Terrador legitimately thought he was fine!

And Cyril seemed to agree, "A little sprain?! Your bloody leg was broken in half! Now stop trying to be the tough guy and rest before I freeze you to the floor you daft moron!" he said, snarling in annoyance. I was kind of thankful Cyril's anger was directed at something other than myself for once, even if I **did** wish Terrador would just listen to his friends and rest.

But yet, the whole scene was kind of amusing, like it was ripped right from a cheesy sit com, you could almost hear the canned laughter as Terrador continued to argue that he was fine and that he didn't need "pampering". I almost couldn't resist laughing at how absurd it was.

However, I should have tried a little harder, "Oh I'm glad you find this amusing you brat!" snarled Cyril, apparently hearing my soft giggles in spite of Terrador's rather loud protests. It was clear, even despite, what? Two days passing since he first learned I was still alive he **still** hadn't let it go yet.

Volteer did a double take, as if not noticing Cynder and I were here until Cyril decided to lay into me again, "Oh! Hello Spyro, Cynder, I apologize that you two had to witness this… ridiculousness, Terrador seems unwilling to swallow his pride and let himself recover!" He said, giving Terrador and annoyed growl.

Terrador just rolled his eyes, "You two are making a big deal out of nothing! I've hurt far worse in my warrior days! This is merely a flesh wound, nothing more!" He said. I was joking about my Monty Python comparison, but he actually said "It's just a flesh wound"! Wow.

Cyril glared at Terrador, "Flesh wound indeed, and you call **me** stubborn! You will rest Terrador, or so help me, I will **make** you!" he threatened.

Eventually, Terrador **finally** gave in and let his friends usher him into the infirmary, Volteer stepped out, approaching Cynder, "Cynder, I need you to help me gather a few more spirit gems for Terrador's leg, ancestors know how much damage he's done to it with that little episode," he said.

Without thinking Cynder agreed, not realizing she was leaving me alone again. Which at this point wouldn't be **so** bad, if it weren't for a certain ice dragon with the mother of all grudges. It took about twenty seconds for Cyril to emerge from the infirmary, I could tell by the look he was giving me he was still angry at me. "Yeah, I can tell this is gonna get messy, I'm just gonna go over there and hope I don't get hit by a stray snowball," Sparx said before buzzing away, yeah thanks a lot Sparx! Good to know my loving brother is willing to stand by me when things get rough! Jerk…

I almost didn't want to try to speak, worried the utterance of but a single word would be enough to make him explode on me again, however it seemed my stare was more than enough to do that, as Cyril began to growl again, "And what are **you** staring at?" he snapped, "If you're expecting an apology you're wasting your time, I'm merely tolerating your presence until Malefor is dealt with," he said.

You know, this was getting kinda old now, I get I abandoned these people, but Cyril was the **only** one who hadn't forgiven me yet, and you know what? I'm **done** with Cyril's attitude! "How long are you planning on holding this grudge?! Everyone else seems to have let it go, but you seem to be holding onto it for all it's worth!" I pointed out.

Cyril seemed at first surprised by my tone, but quickly returned to anger, "Oh don't even **try** to act like you have the high ground here! You're the worst one in this room right now!" He snapped back.

Looks like I was in this verbal battle for the long haul, but I knew this little grudge of his needed to end, everyone needed to be focused on Malefor, not the past three years! "What do you want me to do?! Go back in time?! Look, I hurt you guys, and I'm sorry about that, I really am, but right now, there are bigger things going on than you and me, so you need to get over yourself or-" I snapped back, but suddenly found myself struck in the face again before I could even finish my sentence.

"Don't you **dare** tell me to get over myself!" snarled Cyril, "I had to spend three years of my life watching helplessly as my friends suffered, do you have **any** idea what that's like?! Seeing the people you care about being ravaged by their own emotions and being **powerless** to help them?! I may not show it very often, but I care a **lot** about my fellow Guardians! I even care for Cynder! But you **clearly** don't!" he snapped at me.

I shook off the blow, I couldn't let Cyril stay like this, it was going to make things more difficult than they needed to be. "You keep saying this like I don't care! Like I did this on purpose! You think I **wanted** to hurt you guys?! That I **enjoy** messing with your emotions?! I know I can't make up for what happened! But the least you could do is give me the chance to **try**!" I snapped back, "I get that you hate me right now, but the least you could do is try to look past your hatred and work with me! If not for me than for **them**!" I said, pointing to the infirmary, I don't know where this outburst came from, maybe it was just me finally releasing all of the frustration I had with this whole mess, or maybe I was just **that** sick of being dumped on by Cyril? Whatever it was, I didn't care, Cyril **needed** to hear this, whether he saw it that way or not.

Cyril just glared at me, anger clear in his eyes, "I never said I hated you Spyro," he said, "I've never "hated" you, I hate what you **did** ," he corrected me, "Excuse **me** for not forgetting what happened three years ago, what you put us through! Like it or not Spyro some things you **can't** fix, this is one of them," he said.

I just shook my head, "To be honest Cyril, I sometimes have a hard time forgiving myself for what happened, that's why I ran away when you first started yelling at me, because what you said were things I'd been saying to myself for a while," I said, "But I've come to terms with what I did. The best thing we can do now is just try to move past it and focus on what's important right now, I don't want what happened to Terrador and Hunter to happen to anyone else," I said.

Cyril just sort of glared at me for a moment, however, after a while, his glare broke, "Dammit, I've always hated how hard it was to stay mad at you," he grumbled. "You're right, there are more important things right now, I'll never completely forgive you for what you did, but you are right that we need to look past it for the sake of everyone else," he said.

Did I just win him over? To be honest, I was kind of shocked that worked, he hadn't **forgiven** me per say, but I at least managed to get him to a point where he would be civil with me, and that was what I was aiming for right? To get him to work with me. "Thank you Cyril, that's all I wanted," I said.

Cyril quickly became annoyed, "Just don't let it get to your head! I'm still mad at you for what you did! I'm just… setting it aside for the sake of my friends is all," he said, it was clear he wasn't being completely honest, but I guess that was just Cyril's nature, too proud to admit when he was wrong. Once everything seemed to settle down, Sparx rejoined me from his hiding spot, thankfully things hadn't gone nearly as poorly as I thought they would.

And as if on cue, Cynder and Volteer came back with a ridiculous amount of red gems in their arms, the two dropped them off at the infirmary before Cynder returned to my side, Cyril leaving for the infirmary to help Volteer with Terrador.

Once she knew Cyril was out of earshot she turned to me, "I'm so sorry I left you alone with Cyril, I didn't realize what I had done until we started heading back, he wasn't too hard on you was he?" She asked me.

"At first, but… I think I actually managed to get him to be civil with me, it's better than where we started at least," I explained. Honestly I wasn't really sure **what** had just happened, but I liked to think I at least took a major step towards reconnecting with Cyril.

Cynder smiled and nodded, "Good, I was worried I was going to come back to Cyril pounding your face into the floor," she said with a laugh. "You've come a long way since I found you in that graveyard Spyro, I'm proud of you," she said.

I then noticed she had placed her paw on mine again, although this time it took a bit longer before she realized what she was doing and once again hastily removed it from mine, "Cynder? Are you okay?" I asked.

She took a moment, her eyes darting around before she finally answered, "Y… yeah… I'm okay," she said. She then looked away for a moment, as if debating something, "Spyro, I…" she began, sounding like she was about to confess something before we were suddenly interrupted.

"Did you **really** need to get **that** many gems Volteer?" Cyril asked his fellow guardian, "He has a broken leg! Not a missing limb!" he added.

Volteer rolled his eyes, "It never hurts to be prepared Cyril!" he argued, "Honestly, only **you** would take issue with me being conscientious about possible problems that may arise," he added.

The two proceeded to bicker back and forth for an awkward couple of minutes, "D… does this happen often?"I asked Cynder.

Cynder rolled her eyes, "Almost daily," she said with a hint of annoyance.

Cyril broke from his bickering with Volteer, "Well if Volteer didn't ramble like a buffoon so often maybe we wouldn't bicker so often!" He said, rather defensively I might add.

Volteer took **great** offense to that comment, "Buffoon?! Why I never-, maybe if you weren't so obnoxious, I wouldn't feel the need to debate with you so often!" he argued back before turning to me, "Spyro, I think now may be a most advantageous time to assist you in regaining your electric capabilities," he said, clearly just wanting to get away from Cyril before things escalated any further, and being someone who had **just** gotten out of a screaming match with Cyril, I can't say I blame him.

So the two of us walked on down to the old dragon dojo, the whole way there, I began to wonder what it was Cynder was about to tell me earlier, the way she spoke, it was like she was really reluctant to say it. I couldn't really think of anything it could have been, nothing that would justify **that** much reluctance.

"Alright Spyro, I should warn you now electricity can be among the most unpredictable of the dragon elements, so best be careful when attempting to use it," Volteer warned me, great, I had to worry about electrocuting myself on **top** of trying to learn it.

I tried to do what I did last time, but only managed to shoot another rock, not exactly the element I was trying to get here. "Spyro we're trying to shoot lightening, not rocks" commented Sparx, I just glared at him, he wasn't exactly helping me out here! "Hey! I'm just sayin'!" Sparx said, throwing his hands up.

Volteer approached me, "While I disagree with Sparx's choice in vernacular, his premise has truth to it, you're treating electricity like it's earth, you can't do that," he instructed me, "Every element draws from a different source of energy within a dragon's body, purple dragons are anomalies in that they can draw from all four sources while a typical dragon can only draw from one, you just need to find your inner electricity so to speak," he said.

I tried to focus myself, a lot of dragon magic seemed to work on kids cartoon logic, the whole "find it within you" chestnut, but the thing is, "finding it within you" was such a nebulous concept, so vague in it's premise that it was difficult to find out exactly how to do so.

However, I suddenly felt something building up inside me, I felt the energy being to surge and crackle, a strong warmth built inside my throat all the way up into my mouth so fast I opened my maw out of instinct more that conscience effort, I opened my eyes to see electricity sparking from my mouth like Sith Lightening, I was startled by this, almost falling right on my rear.

However Volteer began to grow worried, "Spyro! You're losing control of it! You need to stop it before-" he said before suddenly I heard a cry of pain sound from Sparx.

I jammed my mouth shut, I could still feel the electricity sparking within my maw before it suddenly faded. I looked to see Sparx, smoldering on the floor, sparking with electricity, "Oh no! SPARX!" I cried as I rushed to his side, "Sparx I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" I said, panicking, oh god… please tell me I didn't kill him!

Sparx began to groan, "Mommy… do I have to get out of bed? Just a few more minutes," he said, semiconscious. He wasn't dead, thank god, but I still hurt him, I **could** have even **killed** him! Nice job Spyro, do Malefor's job **for** him why don't you?

I felt horrible, I didn't even want to **try** learning electricity anymore, not if it came with the risk of hurting my friends! Volteer placed his paw on my shoulder, "Spyro don't let this get to you," he said, as if he could just tell what I was thinking, "I warned you electricity can be dangerous, but I think it might be best we take a sabbatical and allow Sparx to recover," he said.

I gently scooped Sparx off the floor, how could I have let this happen? How could I be so careless? Poor Sparx, he may have been kinda annoying, but he was still my brother, and I almost **killed** him like an idiot. Spraying electricity everywhere like a kid with a Super Soaker! Only instead of water, it was hot electric **death**.

I had to be careful not to squish him in my paw, I didn't know if dragonflies in this universe were as brittle as the ones in the human world, but I wasn't exactly willing to test that theory. All the while I kept thinking of what went wrong, I could **breathe** electricity, but I couldn't seem to **control** it. And poor Sparx payed the price for that lack of control.

I never thought relearning my elements would involve this kind of danger, I guess I thought I would just be able to point my face and shoot without any problems. I could only hope that Sparx would be alright and that I hadn't just added him to the list of my friends on injured reserve…

* * *

 **A/N: Well ain't that a kick in the teeth?**

 **Come to Foowd stories! Where people are always getting hurt, and chapters are named after ACDC songs for no explicable reason! It's good fun for the whole family! Derp.**


	16. How to Train Your Dragon

**Chapter 15: How to Train Your Dragon**

* * *

Sparx thankfully recovered from the electric shock rather quickly, but I as still unsure I wanted to try my electric breath again. I don't know what I had expected to happen, maybe that I would just be able to breathe lightening like I did rocks, with ease and **not** zapping my brother like a big, purple, bug zapper. But once I had managed to get it to come out it was like it had a mind of its own, this wild, untamable thing that just wanted to do whatever it wanted.

Suffice to say, I wasn't exactly all too eager to give it another go, too afraid I'd zap Sparx or even Volteer, hell I could possibly even end up killing **myself** with my own electric breath! To say my confidence was in the toilet would be an understatement, it was so low it was having tea in China, or whatever it was that was on the opposite side of the globe in this universe. I never even considered the possibility my breath elements could actually hurt my friends, or that I'd have so much difficulty controlling them. I knew I had to learn them at some point, Malefor wasn't going to wait for me to stop feeling sorry for myself, and I'd undeniably be more effective against him with my breath elements than without them.

I just laid in a room in the temple, I had no clue what it was for, but it was quiet, empty, the perfect place to mire in my own misery. I didn't even want to think of how long I've spent in here just digesting how much of a colossal screw up I was. I almost **killed** poor Sparx because I was too much of a dumbass to control his own breath elements!

The quiet stillness of the empty room was broken by the sounds of claws scraping against stone floors, I've come to associate the sound with approaching dragons, something I didn't want to deal with right now. I just wanted to stew in my own self pity right now. "Spyro, it's been three hours, are you alright?" sounded Cynder's voice.

I said nothing, hoping my silence alone would be enough to convince her to just leave me be. I just felt like being **alone** right now, however Cynder just laid herself next to me, "Sparx is alright Spyro, if anything you hurt his pride more than anything else," she said. But I just stayed silent, I already knew he was alright, but that wasn't the point, I still **could** have killed him.

It just seemed to me that every time I thought things were going right they suddenly blew up in my face. Cynder sighed, "Come on Spyro, the least you could do is talk to me," she said.

"What is there to say?" I asked, "I almost killed my own brother because stupid me couldn't control his own electricity," I added, this feeling of defeat and failure was sadly something I had gotten all too used to during my time in the Dragon Realms, but this time was so much worse, how could I even hope to beat Malefor if I couldn't even control my powers?

Cynder however, "You spent three years as a human Spyro, you're not used to being a dragon, this was bound to happen," she said as she got to her feet, "Come on, I want you to try again," she said.

W… was she for real? After what **just** happened she actually wanted me to try it **again**?! "No! I… I don't want to hurt you!" I protested but Cynder just placed her claw over my mouth, telling me in one simple gesture to stop talking.

"Just trust me okay? I may not be able to use electricity like you do, but I **do** know how elements are supposed to work, now stop beating yourself up and show me your electric breath," she said.

I could tell by the look she was giving me alone that she wasn't giving me a choice here. I was going to do as she asked whether I liked it or not. So, I began to do as I did before, trying to find my inner electricity, and just like last time it began to travel up my throat and into my mouth, and again, like last time, it began to spark out of control. I began to panic, oh god if I hurt Cynder… I pointed my head downwards in hopes it would prevent the out of control electricity from striking her.

"Okay, I think I know what the problem is," said Cynder, I closed my maw, practically swallowing the electricity, "You don't really know how breath magic works, do you?" she asked me, thinking about it, no, I really didn't. Terrador **kinda** explained it to me, but even then his explanation was vague at best. So I shook me head no, "I figured that," she commented.

She then walked a short distance from me, "Each dragon has a magic energy in them known as mana, however each dragon's mana is different depending on the element they were born into," she explained, Terrador had told me as much, "I for example… well… like you I'm a special case… but for different reasons," she then said. "I can use wind, but thanks to Malefor corrupting me at a young age, I can also use Shadow, Poison, and Fear," she explained. "I imagine that your different elements work off a similar principal to mine, in that we need to focus on converting the mana into the elements we want, the problem I think you might be having is that you're treating it like your earth breath, and thus expecting it to come out like your earth breath, when it doesn't work like that, earth is a completely different beast to electricity," she explained.

I was trying my best to follow along, but having the memories of a human, all this dragon magic stuff was like trying to solve advanced calculus, all this talk of "mana" and "elemental magic", it was so much to take in. "So… how **do** I approach my electric breath?" I asked Cynder.

Cynder sighed, "That I'm not sure, I can't breathe electricity like you," she said, "But I'm guessing you just need to breathe it like how you think electricity should be breathed, focus it," she explained.

I took a deep breath, and began to build my electric breath just as before, however this time when it began to build I focused on it's movements, trying to concentrate it into a single bolt, I heard a loud cracking sound, similar to a thunder clap. I opened my eyes to see the ground before me smoldering. "That was good, but you still need to be able to maintain it, one little bolt of lightening isn't going to do much against Malefor," she said. "But that's a job for Volteer, not me," she added.

I thought at first that would be all she would teach me, however, "Spyro, how good are you with hand to hand combat?" she asked me. I had flashbacks to the less than impressive display I put on during my training session with Terrador, he **did** say I improved my form, but also told me I was still a bit sloppy.

"Terrador said it could use work," I admitted, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Even as a human I was completely inept when it came to fisticuffs, but now that I had gone from a biped to a quadruped, fighting was now an even **taller** ask.

Cynder nodded, "Terrador mentioned that, I just wanted to hear it from you," she said before approaching me, "Take a fighting stance," she said simply.

I panicked, taking the first pose that came to mind, a stance I could best describe as how a dog would interpret Ryu's stance from Street Fighter Two. Cynder shook her head before, putting her claws on my back, forcing me back onto all fours, "You're not a cheetah Spyro, you need to be on all fours so you can maneuver and dodge quickly," she told me.

She then began to move my legs, spreading them out wider, "You also need to keep your stance wide, it makes it harder for your opponent to knock you down" she added. She then tried to shove me to demonstrate, I didn't even budge an inch.

Cynder then took a similar stance right in front of me, "Alright Spyro, show me what you've got," she told me. W… was she serious? She wanted me to **attack** her?! Well, I guess sparring **was** an important part of combat training, so…

I began to throw a few punches, but Cynder easily deflected each one, before one claw swipe went wide and she managed to take the opening and mule kick me to the floor. I groaned as I slowly got up, Cynder sighing and shaking her head, "You weren't much of a fighter as a human were you?" she asked me.

I groaned, "Not really, I was the kid who always found himself shoved into lockers in high school," I said, slightly embarrassed. I don't know if Cynder even knew what a locker even **was,** but I was still admitting to her that I was a noodle armed weakling as a human.

Cynder sighed, "You can't just flail your limbs around and expect them to hit, you need to strike hard, and with precision." she told me, she then began to lightly punch at my chest, "It's important to strike at the important parts of the body, that being the chest," she said before punching at my head, stopping her fist just short, "The head," she said before doing the same to my side, "and the stomach," she continued. "You also need to keep your motions short and quick, take too long to throw a strike and your opponent will see it coming and counter," she instructed me.

I felt like I was in a kung fu movie, where the main character was learning his craft from the wise old master, only instead of that, it was Cynder teaching me the basics of dragon martial arts. "Dragons can't rely exclusively on their elements, mana isn't infinite, you need to be able to defend yourself without them," she explained to me.

Cynder then began to walk me through the steps, showing me how to throw a proper dragon punch, before moving onto more complex motions like flip kicks and tail sweeps, she even began to show me how to use my horns as weapons, I thought they were only for ramming but apparently they could be used like head mounted clubs and even stabbing weapons.

I was starting to feel more comfortable with my dragon body the longer this went on, being taught exactly how to use it properly for combat made me feel like I was finally beginning to master my dragon from.

Minutes turned to hours, as Cynder helped me fine tune my body into a lethal weapon, correcting me whenever I made mistakes, after a while though, the movements began to feel more natural, even a bit familiar, like I had done them a million times before.

It amazed me how much Cynder has helped me since I ran into her at the cemetery, pushing me along, helping me reconnect with my life here, even going so far as to rush t my defense whenever things went south. However, I remembered there was something she had tried to tell me before Volteer and Cyril interrupted us. I considered bringing it up, but now didn't seem to be the right time to me.

But when **would** be that right time exactly? Why so hesitant Spyro? Am I afraid of what it might be? Like she was going to tell me to take a hike? Something about the tone she had taken suggested otherwise, she didn't sound bitter or angry, she sounded hesitant, like whatever she was about to tell me was very personal. "Spyro? Are you okay? You seem unfocused," Cynder commented.

Apparently my introspection was starting to show outwardly, well Spyro, no time like the present, "Cynder… what was it you were about to tell me before Volteer and Cyril interrupted?" I asked.

Cynder immediately got skittish for some reason, like I had stumbled onto some deep dark secret she was determined to hide. "Oh! That? Uh… it… it was nothing… just forget about it," she said rather hastily, telling me she had changed her mind about telling me whatever it was she was about to tell me before. "A… anyway! Let's go check on the others, Volteer might be ready to help you resume your electric training!" She said before she began to push me along, desperate to avoid the topic I brought up as much as possible.

This only served to make me even **more** curious as to what it was she had tried to tell me before, especially if it made her act like **this**. Was it something embarrassing? Whatever it was, it was clear I wasn't going to find out any time soon, I knew how these things went, pressing her for the answer now would only make her lock herself up even **more**.

We soon rejoined The Guardians and Sparx, the latter of which wasted **no** time rejoining my side, "There you are! I was beginning to worry you up and vanished on us again purple boy," Sparx commented before noticing Cynder, "Uh… what's up with the evil she-dragon over there?" he asked me.

I craned my head in Cynder's direction, she was avoiding eye contact with me for some reason, bashfully looking off to the side, up until she noticed all eyes in the room were on her, she quickly grew irritated, "What?!" she asked, no one responded, "I'm fine! Can we focus on re-teaching electricity to Spyro already?" she asked.

Everyone in the room just sort of remained awkwardly silent, no one really willing to break the quiet, until Volteer nodded, "Indeed, must focus on the task at hand! Come along Spyro," he said, me and Sparx began to walk, however Volteer stopped us, "Sparx, I think in light of what transpired last time, it might be best you wait here," he said.

Sparx instantly grew a bit huffy, not wanting to leave my side, but unfortunately for him I completely agreed, while Cynder did help me get better control over my electric breath, I still wasn't confident enough to risk him being around t be electrocuted. Sparx, realizing this, flew back to the rest of the group in defeat.

Volteer began to lead me back into the dojo again, part of me was still a bit reluctant to re-learn electricity, knowing **full** well what happened last time. But I knew I'd have to bite the bullet eventually.

We arrived at the training room, "Alright Spyro, while last time's mishap was most unfortunate, we must move past it and try again, even the best dragons make miscalculations sometimes, best not to linger on them," he said.

I took a deep breath, well, here we go, I began to try to build my electricity once again, doing as Cynder told me, focusing it, at first it worked, however my mind suddenly went to the incident I hurt Sparx, panic set in, and things went south fast, as the bolt got stuck in my throat, sending a nice shock through my own body, my mouth tasting of smoke, I gagged and coughed as I fell over. Well at least only **I** got hurt this time, that had to count for something. "Oh my! Spyro?! Are you alright?!" Volteer asked me.

I coughed as I laid on the floor, that burning taste still in the back of my throat, behold ladies and gentlemen, the mighty purple dragon! Taken down by his own electric breath! What a hero am I right? I didn't even know what happened, I did just as Cynder told me, I focused it, just like she told me, what am I doing wrong?!

"Spyro you need to focus! You can't let the electricity control you, **you** must control **it**! **You** are it's master, not the other way around!" Instructed Volteer, it took a moment… but I finally got it, it just sort of clicked, like a piece to a jigsaw puzzle, I knew what my problem was.

I wasn't controlling it because I kept psyching myself out, when I was with Cynder, I managed to concentrate it because I wasn't fearing for her safety, the bolt got caught in my throat because I was so scared I'd hurt Volteer. So I tried again, this time trying to push my anxiety away, just focus on the bolt Spyro, you're not going to hurt anyone, just focus. **You** control the electricity, it **doesn't** control **you**!

I heard a gentle crackling noise, I slowly opened my eyes to see a steady stream of electricity crackling from my mouth, controlled and focused, "That's it! Excellent work my boy!" Volteer cheered. I began to test it out, expanding the electric surge then shrinking it back to a single strand, before finally stopping it. "See? You just needed to learn to control it," Volteer told me, "Electricity is unlike any other dragon element, unpredictable when not controlled, but any electric dragon worth his scales knows that it is **they** who are the electricity's true masters," he explained.

So all along my issue was simply a mental one, I kept losing control because I kept freaking out, worried I'd hurt someone again. I was now at least in control of my electric abilities, oddly no memories came forth like last time, I actually managed to do this on my own, with a little help from my friends of course. I felt kinda proud of myself, like I had just conquered a powerful beast. The powers of electricity were now **mine** to control!

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

 _ **Just Outside of the Temple…**_

* * *

After a bit of practice with my newly conquered electric breath, Cynder and I had decided to call it a day and head back home. "Well that's two elements down, two to go," I said, "Thanks for the help Cynder," I added.

Cynder nodded, "What are friends for?" she said. I noticed Cynder was still acting kind of awkwardly around me, I guess she was still embarrassed from my question earlier, I wish I knew why though, but try as I might, I couldn't even begin to theorize as to why she was reacting the way she was. "Anyway, we should swing by the healer's and check on Hunter," she suggested.

I had almost completely forgotten about Hunter, that kinda reflected pretty badly on me in hindsight, but given all the insanity with my electric breath I guess it just slipped my mind. I was hoping he was doing better than when we left him at least.

However, before we could reach the healer's, we heard shouting, it was faint, almost impossible to make out from where we were, it sounded like it was coming from on top the wall that surrounded the city, I could see moles in armor scurrying about the top of the wall, whatever was happening, it certainly had the guards spooked.

Curious, I drew in closer, in hopes of hearing what was being said, Cynder following quietly behind me, I still couldn't really make out what was being said, but I managed to make out one word, it was unfamiliar, but it's utterance still sent a shiver up my spine.

Grublins…

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 **A/N: Uh oh, looks like Malefor is ready for round two! Will our heroes be ready for the Grublins? Stay tuned!**

 **Well, it finally happened folks, my evil laptop has finally been slain, it just completely bricked on me, I had to dig out my old one just to get this chapter out, rest in peace Dark Master Laptop… rest in peace.**


	17. Into the Deep End

**Chapter 16: Into the Deep End**

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I had to ask Cynder what Grublins were, according to her they were artificial monsters Malefor makes to do his handy work, kinda like his own personal Putty Patrol. A sort of instant army Malefor could poof into existence, point at something, and have them attack it. I began to wonder if **I** could do that too, with all that's been happening to me lately, I never really stopped to think of just how powerful I could be, just what I could actually pull off. I have to admit, the idea of being able to raise my own army in an instant was pretty metal, maybe it was an extension of my earth breath? Cynder **did** describe them as being made "from the very ground itself". I wonder what the extent of my power really was? What kind of overpowered purple dragon nonsense I could unleash? There had to be more to it than the basic four elements right?

However that little question would have to be tabled for now, as Cynder seemed pretty keen on figuring out what was going on. She and I flew onto the city wall, said wall was pretty high up, I could see most of the surrounding wilderness from up here, all the way up to the distant oceans, wait… where those flying pirate ships? What in the blue hell is **that** all about? No no! Focus Spyro! Grublins first, weird flying boats later. I followed closely behind Cynder as we walked the length of the wall, until we happened upon a crowd of guards, some were huddled around some kind of mounted cannon, while others were either barking orders or looming over the side of the wall.

Cynder just marched right over to one of the guards, a large stone gray dragon, "General Granite, what's going on?" Cynder asked. I was a little more hesitant to join her however, I had no clue how the chain of command worked in this… what were they? Police? Military? A mix of the two? Where would we even come up on that hierarchy? Cynder just walking up to a general like this and asking what's up just seemed like taking protocol and breaking it over your knee.

The general just sort of stared at Cynder, "What… Dammit! Who let you two up here?! We're trying to handle a situation right now! You and your purple painted friend are civilians, and civilians are not permitted on the city wall!" He barked. Really? Again with the paint thing?! It was kind of funny at first, but now it was starting to get really annoying!

Cynder seemed to be unfazed by the general's words, "First of all, he's not wearing paint! Second, who was it that beat Malefor again Granite? It certainly wasn't you! Now tell me what's going on or when you and your men inevitably fail to contain the situation, I'll tell The Guardians who it was that stopped Spyro and I from helping protect Warfang!" She threatened him.

Granite groaned, "Fine! But you two don't act until **I** order it got it?" He said, I nodded, not wanting to piss off the general anymore than he clearly already was, but Cynder just rolled her eyes as we both followed the General to the edge of the wall, and what I saw… oh god…

There were thousands of weird earthy monsters just standing there right outside the walls they looked like the ground had suddenly got up and decided to raid a village, some had crude weapons in their hands, others armed with the very icicles that hang from their snow covered bodies,they began to pound against the gate with their fists, it was like a zombie movie, "Th… they can't actually break through that wall… can they?" I asked.

The General just sort of glared at me, "The wall? No… the gate on the other hand? Enough of those things pile onto it, it's going to give eventually," he explained. I was afraid of that, despite knowing earth and electricity, I was still not very confident in my fighting prowess, I hadn't forgotten how poorly my first real fight went. I know Malefor was quite the step up from these things, but still.

"General! The Skies!"

We all turned to see that apparently Grublins came in flying form too, because of **course** they did. A squadron of the things were just flapping our way in a "v" formation. General Granite wasted no time, turning to the mole manning the cannon, "Focus fire on the Wyverns! They cannot be allowed to reach the city!" He ordered the mole. The mole began to load the canon, the canon a nearby fire dragon lighting the fuse before the weapon suddenly fired.

The cannonball drilled right through a sizable chunk of the Grublins, but several still stayed airborne, "Dragons! Fire your elements on my signal!" General Granite said. I didn't know if that meant me too, or just the dragon guards, but the tension built regardless as the earthen monsters drew ever closer. I felt a nervous chill run up through my body, a mix of anticipation and dread. "FIRE!" the general cried.

The second those words escaped his lips, a volley of various breath elements soared through the sky, lightning buzzed, fire blazed, ice cracked, earth crackled, every element flew into the flying Grublins, striking them down in an instant. The guards all cheered as the Grublins crumbled to dust. I felt some of the anxiety lift, maybe the guards could handle this on their own after all?

However, all the cheering stopped the second we all heard the sounds of wood snapping and cracking. In a flash we all looked over the wall to see the Grublins funneling into the now wide open gate, the gate itself having finally snapped under their combined weight. "First battalion! Secure the main gate!" Granite ordered his men, "Second unit! With me, we need to protect the temple!" He added, the guards all scrambled, going off to defend their city.

Cyder looked to me, "Come on Spyro! We have to stop them before they ravage the whole city!" she said, not even waiting for a response before flying off to help protect Warfang. I felt my heart begin to throb, anxious and afraid, I've never even dreamed of fighting this many monsters before, the likelyhood of me dying here was astronomically high. I was beginning to panic, frozen, overwhelmed.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down, Cynder was right, I needed to help protect the city, I can't let my nerves get the better of me now, I've gotta be brave, I'm the purple dragon of legend, I can't let a bunch of overgrown Chia Pets stop me now! I spread my wings and flew down from the wall, my heart thumping madly in my chest, adrenaline pumping through my veins, I began to rain lightening shots down on any group of Grublins I happened to spot, using lightning was the smarter move, it could spread to the entire cluster in one shot, take them out faster.

Every second counted, if even one of those Grublin groups managed to reach the civilians, no no, don't focus on that Spyro, you're only going to psych yourself out again! Just take out the Grublins, easy peasy.

However I suddenly felt a weight on my back, root arms wrapping tightly around my neck, I was so surprised I couldn't stay airborne and crashed onto the snowy streets, my hitchhiker managing to maintain it's grip around my neck the whole way down, it was starting to strangle me, I couldn't breathe, my limbs flailing uselessly, trying in desperation to get free, but the Grublin kept it's chokehold locked in, it's legs now wrapping around my abdomen in an effort to make escape even more difficult, a classic rear naked choke.

I gasped and wheezed as I felt my head getting progressively lighter, I was beginning to lose consciousness, if this went on much longer I wasn't going to make it! I began to thrash as hard as I could, ramming the back of my head against the Grublin, anything to get this thing to lose its grip! "Let… go… of me!" I croaked, this thing was surprisingly strong, able to maintain it's vice like grip around my neck. Come on you stupid hunk of ground! Let go!

I began to panic, snapping my jaws at the Grublin's arms like a frightened dog, I just wanted to get free! Let me go! God damn you! Let go of me! I can't die! Not like this! Not to a **Grublin** of all things! I began panic throwing my two elements, rocks and electricity flying in every direction, I was terrified, I just wanted this god forsaken thing to let go of me! Why was this so hard?!

My eyes shot open when I heard the sound of something stabbing into the Grublin's head, I felt it's grip loosen, air at long last returning to my lungs, I quickly scrambled to my feet to see an almost comically large icicle stabbed right into the Grublin. I just stared at it, breathing heavily, still panicked slightly, someone saved me, but who?

"Spyro? Are you alright?"

I turned to see Cyril of all people land in front of me, out of all the guardians I expected to come to my rescue, I never expected it to be the one who had once referred to me as a "snake", Cyril puzzled at my silence, "What? Did you really expect me to sit there and watch that Grublin choke the life out of you?" he said. Well, when you put it that way, it did seem a bit silly of me to assume he would allow that Grublin to choke me out like that.

I took a moment to recover, "Y… yeah… I'm okay," I said, still quite shaken by how close I came to dying back there, if Cyril had been just a few seconds later I'd probably be dead.

Cyril looked around for a moment, "I came as soon as the guard informed us of the breach, Volteer and Terrador are taking to the other ends of the city," he informed me, Cyril then began to look around again, as if looking for something specifically. "Spyro, where's Cynder? She's usually with you," he asked me.

I took a moment to regain my composure, "I… I don't know, she kinda flew off after the Grublins breached the gate," I explained.

However Cyril's eyes suddenly went wide as dinner plates, "Spyro! Behind you!" he said, before I could even react, Cyril blew a frosty gust of his breath magic right over my head, I turned to see a Grublin frozen solid, it's crude sword held high over its head, undeniably ready to bring it down on my head. However, this Grublin was not alone, as a hoard began racing towards us, there had to be fifty of the things at least!

Cyril stood himself in front of me, "Go! Find Cynder! I'll handle these Grublins!" He told me. I just shook my head, no way! I'm not leaving Cyril to the mercy of these monsters! "Don't you give me that look! You need to find Cynder! You two are better together than apart! Now hurry! GO!" He snapped.

I reluctantly complied, flying off to find Cynder, I wanted to trust that Cyril could handle himself, but a part of me wanted to stay and help him. But he was clearly intent on handling it himself, and to be fair, he was already doing far better at dealing with these things than **I** was. But how was I going to find Cynder in all this chaos?

I hovered in mid air for a minute, scanning my eyes around the city, it was already in chaos, I could see smoke from distant fires bellowing from various parts of the city. Distant screams could be heard all around, flashes from fired dragon elements shined from numerous nooks and crannies of Warfang's snowy streets. But I couldn't find even a single sign of Cynder anywhere! God what if she's already dead? The very thought sent an icy chill throughout my body.

"CYNDER!" I called out, I knew even if she was still out there she wouldn't have been able to hear me over all this fighting, but it was worth a shot at least. I felt my heart begin to race as I flew through the streets, I wasn't even concerning myself with the Grublins anymore, I just wanted to find Cynder, to know she's okay.

But I instantly regretted that decision, as one of those winged Grublins shoulder checked me out of nowhere into the side of a building like a hockey player against the boards. Pain shot up through my shoulder and right side of my face as I fell limply to the ground. The creature wasted no time, pouncing on me, slashing with its talons, or at least, that's what I was assuming they were. It was hard to tell with these things.

I quickly shot it with a bolt of electricity, the creature screeching in agony as it flew back a good ten yards. I quickly picked myself up off the ground before it could recover, raining earth shots on the abomination before it finally died, did the word "died" really apply with these things? Were they ever even really alive in the first place? Whatever, it's not alive now that's all that mattered.

I tried to walk away, only for a piercing pain to shoot up my left front leg as I stepped with it. Oh god, I think that ramming into the wall back there might have broken my leg, applying even the slightest pressure on it was met with searing pain. So I tucked it in and began to hobble forward. Man, and I thought adjusting to walking on all fours was difficult, now I only had use of three legs to walk on, which was far more difficult than it sounded.

I really hope it was just a bad sprain, the last thing I needed right now was to go down with a broken leg, not with Malefor gunning for my friends! I just kept limping, cursing each time my bad leg throbbed in pain, I couldn't even fly, I needed to be able to push off to get airborne, and that required all four legs. Goddammit I suck!

Thankfully I hadn't run into any more Grublins yet, I didn't know if I could fight effectively with a busted leg, hell I wasn't even convinced I could even **without** a busted leg! I just needed to find Cynder, that's all, and I'd be fine!

I heard a buzzing sound slowly getting closer, "Spyro! There you are! I lost you back at the wall!" said Sparx, I keep forgetting he's there, I guess it was because of how small he was, "Whoa… Spyro…. Your leg okay?" he asked me, concern in his voice.

I looked at my leg, I could see it was bruising pretty badly, I didn't even know scales **could** bruise, but I guess they can. "Took a nasty hit from a Grublin, but I'm fine, we need to find Cynder, come on!" I said before turning to resume my search. God running with a broken front leg was hard, I felt like I was going to lose my balance and fall flat on my face at any moment!

Sparx and I reached the town square, and unfortunately, found a hoard of Grublins waiting for us. However they seem to be distracted by something else, it was only when I saw some of them being flung in several directions did I realize someone was fighting them off.

I began to tear my way through the crowd, clocking them with rocks, zapping them with electricity, anything to thin the herd, when I finally managed to break through, I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I found none other than Cynder, thank god she was alright! "Cynder!" I called to her.

Cynder turned her head in my direction, "There you are! I was wondering where you went-" she began before she noticed I was tucking my leg in, without a word she rushed over to me, completely disregarding the hoard of Grublins that currently surrouned us, she quickly took my bad leg, stinging pain erupting through it as she jerked it towards her.

Cynder just stared at it in horror, "You need to get back to the temple, now!" she said, her face was contorted into a serious glare that told me she wasn't taking "no" for an answer.

However I wasn't oblivious to the hoard of Grublins currently terrorizing the city, "I'm not leaving you! I can still fight!" I said, to be honest I was kinda stretching it when I said I could still fight, I didn't know how well I could still fight with a messed up leg, but I seemed to do alright when trying t cut through the hoard.

But Cynder didn't seem to agree, "I don't care! Your leg could be broken Spyro! Get back to the temple NOW!" she yelled, something about her tone seemed… off… She was my friend, so her being concerned about my injury was expected, but she seemed frightened by the injury for some reason, making a big deal out of it when it was probably just a bad sprain.

I shook my head, "No! Cynder this is my city too! I'm not ducking out because my leg got a little bruised! I'm staying!" I protested.

Cynder's face suddenly contorted to an enraged fury, "Like hell you are! I'm not going to risk you getting killed again! Go back to the temple! NOW!" she roared, sounding a lot like a fussy mother.

I didn't need this right now, "I don't need to be babied Cynder! I can handle myself just fine! What's up with you? You're acting like I lost a limb!" I argued, this was so stupid! Warfang was under attack and Cynder was treating me like a child! I was perfectly capable of dealing with a busted leg! "Don't treat me like a helpless little wilting flower! I can take care of myself!" I snapped.

However Cynder quickly lost her anger for some reason, replaced with horror, "Spyro look out!" She said, I couldn't even so much as protest before she suddenly pushed me to the ground, thankfully not landing on my bad leg. However that quickly became the least of my concerns as I heard the sound of something sharp piercing flesh.

Warm, wet liquid splashed onto the side of my head, my heart nearly stopped when I saw the blood running down my snout like a tiny crimson river. I knew the blood wasn't mine, I felt no injury apart from my leg. I slowly turned my head upwards, hesitantly looking to see where the blood had come from.

Time almost seemed to stand still as my eyes were met with the sight of Cynder standing over me, eyes wide, but empty, a large icicle sticking out of her side, stabbed into her by a Grublin who probably tore it from it's own snow covered body. Her emerald eyes retreated upwards into her skull before she limply fell to the side with a wet splat.

I just stared in disbelief, wanting so badly for this foul image to be just a horrible creation of my addled mind, but I knew what I was seeing was all to real, the dragoness who I'd grown to rely on as a friend and guide, the one anchor I had in this messed up world, laid bleeding at my feet. "Cynder?... Cynder no!" I said, cradling her head in my front legs, I didn't even care that this motion bothered my bad leg, nothing could be worse than what I was seeing happen before me.

I began to sob and cry, "No! Cynder wake up! Cynder! Please don't leave me! Please! CYNDER!" I cried, how could this happen? How could I let this happen? She's done nothing but help me since I met her. I… I yelled at her! Oh god I yelled at her! Please god don't be dead! I can't let that be our last interaction! "Cynder I'm sorry! I shouldn't have yelled at you! Just please don't die! PLEASE!" I sobbed.

Despite how little I remembered of Cynder, I just couldn't imagine life without her, it wasn't right! It wasn't fair! She didn't do anything to deserve this! However, I heard a strange sound coming from the Grublins, at first I thought it was grunting, but listening more closely, it almost sounded like… laughter...

I angrily turned to the Grublins, fury in my eyes, hate in my heart. They were laughing! Those sons of bitches where mocking her sacrifice! How dare they do disrespect her like this! Make a mockery of her suffering! What gave them the right?! Cynder was just trying to protect me you monsters! I felt my rage build and build with each cackle and snicker these heartless bastards uttered. I wanted to tear them apart! Hurt them like they hurt her!

I slowly rose to my feet, "Stop it! Stop laughing at her! STOP IT!" I screamed, but they just kept laughing, heartlessly making a joke out of the dear friend I was losing. I felt the dark energy coming back, I almost welcomed it, these pieces of garbage deserved it! Cynder deserves better than this! "Stop mocking her! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I roared.

I suddenly felt something rushing up my throat, it was warm, scorching even, like I had just swallowed a ghost pepper but in reverse, suddenly flames spewed from my mouth, incinerating the cackling Grublins unfortunate enough to be in range. The laughter suddenly stopped, "Is it funny now?! Huh?! You pieces of sh**! IS IT?!" I screamed before roasting another batch of the bastards. They began to panic, scrambling to get away from me.

Good! They should be scared of me the pieces of trash! "I'll kill you all! You hear me!? You're all going to f**king die and I hope every single one of you burns in hell!" I screamed before igniting more Gublins, one after the other, burning away into nothingness until there were none left. I screamed to the heavens, as if challenging god himself! The anger was still there, boiling and festering inside of me, just waiting to be unleashed upon the next fool who dared cross my path.

I slowly turned my head to see a group of citizens gathered around, frightened at the raging purple dragon that stood before them, these people, they who endlessly tormented Cynder while I was stuck in the human world! They were no better than the Grublins! "Are you people happy now?! HUH?! The "Terror of the Skies" is dead now! That's what you bastards wanted right?! Who cares how much she's done for you ungrateful jerks!" I screamed.

I almost shot a fireball at the crowd before Sparx suddenly flew in my path, "WHOA! What the hell are you doing Spyro?! The Grublins I get, but are you seriously going to torch a group of helpless innocent bystanders?!" He said.

I just growled, "Innocent?! These people tormented and mocked Cynder for years! Why shouldn't I put the fear of god in them?!" I growled, I felt myself struggling to even think straight, I was so angry, at the Grublins, the civilians, everything! I just wanted to burn it all to the ground!

However suddenly I felt something strike my back, pinning me to the ground, "Spyro that's enough!" I heard Terrador's voice boom, "I understand you're upset, but I will **die** before I allow you to take it out on innocent people!" he growled.

I struggled a bit, but slowly began to realize what I was doing, what I would have done if Sparx and Terrador hadn't intervened! I was seriously about to kill **innocent** people! What the hell is **wrong** with me?! I felt the dark energy subside, anger replacing itself with fear and sorrow. I can't believe I let that darkness take me that far! Oh god… if I had actually followed through and killed those people… I didn't even want to contemplate it. "I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry," I whimpered, sobbing uncontrollably.

I felt Terrador lift his paw off my back, the other two guardians arriving on the scene, Volteer wasted no time scooping Cynder off the ground, "We need to get her medical treatment, quickly!" Volteer said, his voice shaking in horror. I just laid there, staring at Cynder's lifeless body, I didn't know if she was dead or not, but all I wanted was for her to be okay… for everything to be okay…

The crowd quickly dispersed, heading back into their homes either out of fear of me or due to the situation dying down. "Spyro," I heard Terrador say, "Come, we need to get that leg of yours treated, it looks pretty bad," he said, I had almost forgotten about my injured leg, too wrapped up in my anger over possibly losing Cynder to care.

I felt Terrador nudge me to my feet with his nose, his bad leg was still tucked in, wrapped in a bandage, "She's going to be okay Spyro, Cynder is a strong dragon, she'll pull through," he tried to reassure me, "We shouldn't linger here, we'll talk about what happened at the temple," he said before beginning to lead me back to the temple.

I sadly limped alongside him, I was beside myself now, I could very well be losing Cynder, and I almost attacked a group of innocent people! I was scared of that darkness before… but now that I knew just how far it could have taken me… what I was capable of under its influence… I was beginning to wonder who the bigger threat to my friends was… Malefor… or myself?

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 **A/N: Well Cynder's possibly dead, Warfang is ravaged, and Spyro is terrified of his own inner darkness… Happy Holidays you filthy animals!**

 **But seriously though, I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I've had a lot of nonsense to deal with in my real life lately, so I had to tend to that first, and working with my old ass laptop while wait for my new one to arrive is not fun. No joke, I was going to post this chapter yesterday, but while I was writing it, Libreoffice FROZE on me, like, it wouldn't let me type anymore… so I got frustrated and just took the rest of the night off, god damn do I hate technology sometimes…. urgh.**

 **Update 12/18/18: Fixed a very unfortunate spelling gaff ("hored" indeed Foowd,) and explained the origins of the icicle that stabbed Cynder better, and fixed the scenes describing the elements fired by the guards to be more accurate, such a professional production this story! derp.**


	18. House Arrest

**Chapter 17: House Arrest**

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I have no idea how much time had passed since Cynder was stabbed, time seems to slow down to a crawl when you're anxious, minutes feel like hours, hours feel like days. Not knowing if Cynder was even still alive or not was slowly beginning to drive me to the brink of madness, the guilt, the worry, it was starting to really take its toll. Having to spend so much of that time being patched up did little more than add to the misery, bandages being tightened around bruised scales, I didn't even care when the healer told me it wasn't broken just fractured, that healing gems and rest would sort it out just fine. I didn't care about me, I wasn't the one knocking on death's door, having the grim reaper looming over me, ready to cut me down any moment. All I wanted to know was if my dear friend was alright, that she would pull through.

I had debated with myself as to what I was going to do now, it seems that every second I waste trying to relearn my elements gives Malefor another chance to hurt my friends. First Terrador gets his leg snapped in two, then Hunter gets blindsided by a fireball, now Cynder could possibly be dying from a stab wound from an icicle intended for me. I guess that just served to make Cynder's injury even worse, that the Grublin had intended to kill me with it, but Cynder had taken the stabbing for me.

I just sat alone in the Dragon Temple infirmary, alone with my thoughts, I can't let this keep going on like this, something had to give here, I can't risk Malefor making another attempt on my friends! I have to put an end to this! I knew going after Malefor now was suicide, I only had access to three of my four elements, and I barely knew how to use fire, not to mention my injured leg hampered me greatly. But what other option was there at this point? Waste more time? Give Malefor another chance to make an attempt on one of my friends? I was sick of Malefor, sick of his twisted games, sick of worrying when he would strike again! I wanted him gone! I wanted the madness to cease! For everyone to be safe!

I hopped down from the little cot the healers had me laying in, I was still struggling to walk on three legs, my injured leg being stuck in a sling did me no favors. I kept hobbling around the temple until I happened upon Cyril and Volteer standing outside a room, I knew they'd just try to force me back into bed if they saw me, so I hid myself behind the corner of the hallway.

"Any changes?" Cyril asked Volteer.

Volteer sighed, "No, the healers have done all they can, but the stab wound was pretty deep, only time will tell if Cynder will pull through or not," he replied. Volteer looked like he was about to break down, Cynder had mentioned she and Volteer had grown close during my absence, so I imagine seeing her like that was quite difficult for him. This also revealed that Cynder was in that room.

I wanted to go in, to be there for her, but again, I knew if the two Guardians saw me they would force me back into the infirmary. So I waited for the two to leave before I went to check on Cynder. It took a while, but eventually they left, Cyril claiming they should check on Terrador's leg. I waited for them to get a good distance away before silently slinking into the room.

There I found Cynder, laid upon a cot similar t the one I had been on, laid on her side, her wound wrapped in bandages stained with her blood, her face was strangely peaceful, as if she were simply asleep. It was hard for me, seeing her like this, this strong dragoness reduced to such a state. Made all the worse by the knowledge our last conversation had been an argument, a stupid one at that. I didn't want that to be our last words to one another, I've grown quite close with Cynder since I first ran into her at the cemetery, I didn't want to imagine living in this world without her by my side. I just wanted her to wake up, to call me an idiot for not paying attention and letting that damn Grublin sneak up on us like that. Then we'd share a laugh at the whole situation. But she never stirred, she just laid there, silent as death, still as stone, barely clinging to life.

There was no laughter, no poking fun at how badly we handled that encounter, just me… wishing she would just open her eyes, put me at ease, take my worry away with a gentle smile and comforting words. I had to be the worst hero ever, I let Malefor injure three of my friends, and even myself. "I'm so sorry Cynder… you deserved better than this…" I said. I couldn't fight back the tears anymore, I hated everything about this situation, I hated that my leg was injured, I hated that Cynder was stabbed and now barely clinging to life, I hated that Malefor was doing this to these good people, they didn't deserve this!

I wiped the tears from my eyes, "I've made my decision," I said, "I'm ending this… now! No one else is getting hurt, no one else dies! I know you wanted to face him with me, but you're in no condition to fight, and I'm done waiting for him to hurt more of you, I hope you can forgive me," I said before turning to leave.

I marched right out, I didn't care that my leg was messed up, I didn't care that I only had three out of four elements at my disposal, I was going to end Malefor, make him pay for what he did to Terrador, Hunter, Cynder, and everyone else he's hurt! I'm not going to wait anymore, I'm not giving him another chance to attack another friend, I'm gonna take his stupid mind games and shove them down his goddamn throat!

I heard an all too familiar buzzing, "Hey Spyro!" Sparx greeted me but I ignored him and just kept walking, however Sparx just followed me, "Uh… shouldn't you be in bed there champ? I mean, I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure walking on an injured leg… it ain't good for ya," he pointed out. Again, I just kept walking, not uttering a single word to my dragonfly brother. "Where are you off to anyway? Just taking a leisurely stroll?" He asked me.

I glared at Sparx, "I'm ending this," I said flatly before continuing on my way, Sparx stood there, kind of stunned, but quickly flew right into my path, "Whoa whoa! What do you mean "ending this"?" he asked, worry clear in his voice.

"I'm sick of Malefor's sick, twisted mind games! I'm putting them to an end right now!" I said before going to walk away. I knew where this was going, I could tell just by the look on his face that he was going to try to stop me, not that he **could** mind you, he was what? An inch tall at best? That would be a very short fight to put it nicely, but I'd rather it not come to that.

But once again Sparx flew in my path, "Hold on there deathwish! You aren't ready to fight Malefor yet! You still need to relearn your breath things! Not to mention your leg is messed up!" he pointed out. Yeah, I called that one, again, he couldn't really stop me, but just the fact he was trying to stop me alone was making me progressively more agitated by the second.

A frustrated growl rumbled from my throat, I wasn't going to argue with him about this! "Get out of my way Sparx!" I snarled through gritted teeth, I didn't want to hurt Sparx, he was my brother, but I wasn't going to let him stop me either.

Sparx just crossed his arms, "Not a chance! This is a dumb idea and you **know** it!" he argued. I growled again, showing my fangs this time, "Don't you "grr" at me purple boy! You aren't ready to face him yet! So why don't you mosey your fat, purple butt back to the nice infirmary with the comfy bed and all the fun stuff?" he said.

I swear to god Sparx- "Spyro?" I turned to see that Volteer had happened upon me, "What are you doing out here?" He asked, I didn't even waste time answering, dealing with Sparx was one thing, but I **knew** Volteer could **easily** stop me. So I bolted, no doubt confusing Volteer even more. "Spyro! Wait!" Volteer called to me, but I just kept running. I had to get out of her before he realized what was happening! "Sparx? What's going on? What's gotten into Spyro?" He asked.

"Stop him! He's trying to go after Malefor!" he yelled. Dammit Sparx! Really?! I quickened my pace, going as fast as I possibly could on three legs. But it wasn't long before I felt something tackle me to the ground, I couldn't even hope to resist the weight, instantly collapsing onto my stomach with a painful thud.

I began to thrash wildly, but the weight was too much for me to break free from, "Spyro! Stop it! STOP IT!" screamed Volteer as he grabbed my front legs and pinned them to the floor. "You are **not** going after Malefor! You aren't ready!" He said. It was weird hearing Volteer of all people screaming at me, he was usually such a happy go lucky dragon, but I guess he was just **that** upset I chose this course of action. Given how hard he was trying to keep me from slipping away, he was also damn determined to stop me too.

But I wasn't having it! I just kept thrashing, squirming, trying in vain to break free from Volteer's grasp, "Let me go Volteer! Let me go damn you!" I screamed, I was trying everything I could to get free, I even tried headbutting Volteer, but he took the shot in stride, not losing his grip for a second. God dammit Volteer! Just let me go! Let me stop this! I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to!

He shifted his weight, his chest pinning my head to the floor, "Not on your life! Of all the irrational, incomprehensible, inconceivable," he began before catching himself, "You're better than this Spyro! I know things look bleak! But you cannot let despair hamper your cognitive reasoning!" He said.

I was getting tired from all the thrashing and flailing I was doing, Volteer's strength and size well overmatched my own, I was fighting a losing battle here, "I can't let him keep hurting my friends Volteer! Let me go! Let me stop this! PLEASE!" I begged, why was he fighting so hard to stop me? We all wanted Malefor gone! Why won't he just let me end this madness?! How much longer am I supposed to suffer?! Just let me stop him… please it's all I want!

But Volteer wouldn't listen, keeping me pinned, "Not yet!" he growled, "You go after him now it will be suicide! We've already lost you once, if you think I'll allow you to die again you are sorely mistaken!" he said. Tightening his grip on my front legs as if to emphasize just how serious he was.

I then heard two other dragons approach, I knew they had to be Cyril and Terrador, who else could they be? "Volteer what is the meaning of this?! What's going on?!" Terrador asked.

I heard Sparx fly over, "Spyro's lost it! He was trying to go after Malefor by himself!" Sparx told them, I swear to god Sparx, I'm going to kick your tiny little ass for this! You traitor!

I then felt the ground underneath me begin to shake, before all four of my legs were suddenly trapped by rock formations, Volteer got off me, knowing I was sufficiently incapacitated. I just glared at The Guardians, I was so angry with them right now, why won't they just let me end this?! Why do I have to sit here and wait for Malefor to pick off my friends one by one? I just wanted it to stop!

However Terrador met my angry gaze with one of his own, "Don't give me that look young dragon! What were you thinking?! Going after Malefor in your condition would be suicide!" he scolded me, as if I were some misbehaving child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

I was bewildered, you'd think they'd **want** to be safer? For me to stop Malefor before he managed to kill one of them! "I'm sick of Malefor's games! Sick of watching you guys get hurt by that bastard! Why won't you just let me put an end to it?! Why won't you let me stop him?! Just let me go! LET ME GO!" I snapped, tears flowing from my eyes.

Terrador just shook his head, "You **will** put an end to it Spyro, but not yet, you aren't ready," he said. "I understand you're scared, stressed, that you just want to protect us, but that is no excuse to throw logic by the wayside and get yourself killed!" he yelled back.

Cyril turned to Terrador, "What do we do? Spyro is a stubborn one, I have no doubt he'll try this again," He asked. The irony of _Cyril_ of all people calling _me_ stubborn was not lost on me, hello pot, it's kettle, you're black!

Terrador thought it over for a moment, before finally coming up with a solution, "I take no pleasure in doing this to you Spyro, but until your training is complete and your leg is healed, you are **not** to leave the temple under any circumstances, do you understand?" he said.

My eyes widened, "Seriously?! You're placing me under house arrest?!" I protested, they can't do this! That maniac is still out there! Planning his next attempt on the lives of my friends! But no! We gotta make sure Spyro doesn't try to stop him or anything until he learns his ABCs or something! This was stupid!

Terrador growled, even showing fangs, "Yes I am! I'm sorry Spyro, but this is for your own good! You need to rest, to **heal**! We **will** stop Malefor, but not while you're still injured and lack elements!" he said before finally undoing my rock binds, "Now back to the infirmary! NOW!" he roared, he then began to usher me forward, practically pushing me along.

I hated Terrador so much right now, I just wanted to stop this madness! Was that so wrong?! I refused to even make eye contact with him, just angrily looking the other way, all because I wanted to protect my friends I was being treated like an inmate at a prison! "You giving me attitude does not help your situation Spyro," Terrador pointed out.

I would have flipped him off if I didn't need my front leg to walk right now, I was so angry, frustrated, all I wanted was for everyone to be safe! Why am I being punished for caring enough about my friends to want to stop the bad guy early? Oh how devious of me to try to protect you people! God!

We finally reached the infirmary, "You will not leave this room until one of us guardians permits it! Are we understood?" boomed Terrador.

I rolled my eyes, "What am I? Grounded?" I retorted.

Terrador just glared at me, "I reiterate, you giving us attitude does not help your situation," Terrador said. "I understand you're angry, but we're only doing this for **your** protection, take some time, cool off, and we'll discuss this further once you're of sounder mind," he said before walking off.

I felt like I was the only sane person here, why the hell can't they understand? Every second I waste trying to relearn my elements just gave Malefor another chance to hurt them again! I've gotten lucky so far in that he hasn't managed to kill any of my friends yet, but I wasn't willing to give him the chance to correct that!

But what could I do? The Guardians had made their point rather forcefully, and I knew slipping out without them noticing would be almost impossible, especially after **that** display in the halls. They'd be on high alert now, so all I could do was just sit here and pray that Malefor wouldn't attack again.

"Hey buddy, you're not still… ya know… mad are you?" I heard Sparx say as he fluttered into the room. I had no words for him, I didn't even want to look at him right now. "Oh come on Spyro! Don't be like that! What was I supposed to do? Let you go get yourself killed by Malefor?" he said.

I glared at him, "I don't know Sparx, maybe **let** me stop the evil dragon that's threatening everything I love and care about?! How about that huh?!" I snapped. I got they were just trying to protect me and all, but that didn't change the fact Malefor was still out there, still capable of killing everyone.

Sparx however just rolled his tiny blue eyes, "Yeah, and what was your plan exactly hero boy? You have no idea where Malefor is, and even if you did, you still don't have memories, which means you don't know your way around, if Malefor didn't kill you, the elements certainly would have," Sparx said. "Look, you don't think I want Malefor gone? I'd love nothing more than for that ugly jerkwad to vanish off the face of the earth, but considering how poorly your last encounter with him went, a little preparation isn't such a bad thing now is it?" he continued.

I can't believe Sparx of all people is trying to be the "responsible" one here. I was well aware I stood a better chance with more training than without, but when three of my friends have already gone down with serious injuries, one possibly even dying, how could anyone expect me to keep waiting to take him down? "Better than everyone I love being horribly injured or killed," I grumbled.

"I think you're forgetting we want to keep **you** alive too Spyro," Sparx pointed out, "So stop it with the pouty face and just let your leg heal okay-kay? We'll kick Malefor's stupid butt, just… later, okay?" he added. I just grumbled, he didn't get it, none of them did, how much longer was I expected to deal with all of this? The paranoia? The worry? All I wanted was everyone to be safe again, to not have to worry about Malefor busting in and wrecking everything. Was that really so unreasonable?

I laid myself on the floor, annoyed, frustrated, scared of what the future held for the friends I had been spending the better part of this week trying to reconnect to, and I was beginning to feel a bit tired, as if all the stress from today had finally begun to catch up to me. Why was this all happening to me? Why couldn't Malefor just stay imprisoned? Then none of this would be happening. But no, Malefor has to be a sore loser and attack my friends! "I just want it all to stop Sparx… how much of this am I supposed to endure before it's enough?" I said almost unconsciously, like I was asking myself more than Sparx.

However Sparx just shrugged, "I dunno, but you'll get through it, you always do," he said. "Besides, it'll make it all the more satisfying when you pound Malefor's dumb face into the ground when you do, he'll be all like "Oh no Spyro! I didn't mean t make you mad! Don't pound me into mush!" and you'll just keep hitting him and hitting him, it'll be fun, trust me," he added. I laughed in spite of myself, I still wanted to be mad at Sparx, but I guess his joking and upbeat personality was rubbing off on me, "Ah hah! I knew I'd break through your mopey exterior eventually you mauve sad sack you!" Sparx said.

I felt my anger beginning to fade a little, maybe I just needed some goofy banter with my brother to calm my nerves? I don't know, but I was starting to feel better for some strange reason, I still wanted to stop Malefor, but at least now I wasn't fuming, ready to ring Sparx's tiny little neck.

All I really wanted was for everything to be okay, no more fear, no more panic, no more death, just safe, normalcy. I was so tired of being scared, so tired of worrying about Malefor, worrying about my friends, I spent so long trying to regain my friendships… I didn't want to lose them… I didn't want to see them get hurt anymore…

My eyes began to feel heavy, a loud yawn escaped my throat, I've been through so much today, sleep sounded devine right now, a brief reprieve from my hellish situation I currently found myself in. "Okay buddy, you just sleep it off, things will be better tomorrow I'm sure," Sparx said, patting me on the head with his tiny hand before buzzing off.

I hoped he was right, I've spent many nights here hoping tomorrow would be better, but this time, I really hoped it would be, not just for my own sake, but for everyone else's sake too

* * *

 **A/N: Spyro's little freak out had always been one of my favorite moments in the original, it was one of the more emotional moments of the story and I was really hoping to do it right here, and I think I did.**


	19. Promise Me

**Chapter 18: Promise Me...**

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Morning came quietly and with little fanfare, my body protesting my decision to sleep on the cold hard stone temple floor with painful aches. A night sleep had helped calm my nerves a little bit, but part of me still very much wanted to put an end to Malefor's games, but another part of me had resigned itself to the fact that Sparx and The Guardians would have none of that, the best thing I could do now was try to speed up the re-learning process. I slowly hobbled out of the infirmary. Sleeping on the hard temple floor had done my injured leg no favors as it felt like needles were jammed into it, a constant stinging pain that I was trying my best not to let bother me.

It seemed like I was the only one up right now, as the temple halls were surprisingly empty, my first thought was to take advantage and go after Malefor, but that plan died the second I noticed one of the guardians, Cyril, fast asleep at one of the exits.

Those clever bastards! They strategically fell asleep at the exits just to make sure I couldn't make a break for it! Who does that?! With a soft groan I turned myself around and headed for the Dragon Dojo, my plan was to practice with my newfound fire breath, I knew how to use it now, but I wasn't as skilled with it as earth and electricity.

As I entered the dojo, I couldn't help but feel like I was wasting time, I **knew** Malefor was going to make another attempt on Warfang at some point, the bastard never let a day go by without horribly injuring one of my friends. Now that I couldn't leave the temple, that paranoia became so much worse, because now if Malefor attacked Hunter or Karius, hell even my dragonfly parents, I couldn't do diddly squat to stop it because I'm basically grounded.

I felt powerless, stuck in a box while the world around me burned. I was hoping practicing my fire breath would offer me some form of catharsis, or at least a distraction from all the stress that was swirling around my head like a swarm of angry hornets.

I began to experiment with my fire breath, I knew I could spew flames from my mouth like a flamethrower, but what else could I do? I tried a quick blow of air, a tiny puff of fire sparked from my snout, I wonder if I could throw fireballs? I inhale, trying to focus the fire magic into a ball shape, and fired, the fireball flying through the air before hitting the far wall.

I surprised myself with how easy it was for me to master fire, it was almost natural feeling, like something in my head just instantly clicked with it unlike the other elements. I wonder why that was? Maybe fire had been my default element of choice before I lost my memory? Or maybe it was like an Avatar the Last Airbender kind of deal where purple dragons were born into specific elemental races, and mine happened to be fire? Who knows, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth though, fire happened to be the one element we lacked a Guardian to teach me in, so me being a natural with it helped considerably.

All I had left to master now was ice, I began to wonder if I could just will it forth like fire? Skipping the whole training with Cyril thing would help me considerably, and right now, I needed a fast way to master the elements so I could just kill Malefor and be done with it.

I tried to look for the ice magic within myself, figuring that it worked like the other three, I felt something cold in my chest, yes! I was doing it! It began to build, my throat felt cold, like I had just swallowed a chunk of ice but it reverse, however that cold feeling suddenly moved to the outside of my head, which also now felt really heavy.

I opened my eyes to find that my head was now encased in a block of ice, thank god I was the only one awake right now because I don't think I'd survive the embarrassment. I began to wobble to and fro, the giant block of ice my head was trapped in making me very top heavy. How the hell does this even happen?! How do you freeze your own head?! I couldn't even see through this stupid ice, everything was blurry and wobbly, like a warped camera that was out of focus. Thankfully I could still breathe, but I didn't know how long that would last.

I needed to break this thing before I began to suffocate! I just needed to find a wall and smash the ice block against it, but my vision was so blurry I couldn't determine which indecipherable blob was a wall and which was just the doorway. Maybe I should try using my fire breath to melt it? But who knows how long that would take or if I even had enough mana to do it!

However, suddenly I felt something grab my ice block head, the ice began to crunch and crack before finally crumbling into a million ice shards on the floor. "This, Spyro, is why you should wait for instruction before attempting your breaths," said Cyril between laughs, apparently he had not only woken up, but also, to my humiliation, saw me freeze my head like an idiot. "I know you've grown quite impatient since Cynder's injury, but I doubt freezing your own head is going to do much to Malefor other than maybe make him die of laughter," he added.

Thanks for that Cyril, good to know when I'm feeling bad, I can always come to you to feel even worse. "I thought I could just re-teach it to myself like my fire breath," I said. I was to embarrassed, what must Cyril be thinking of the idiot dragon that just froze his own head?

Cyril however just shook his head, "Well **clearly** you cannot," he said, "And as appreciated as that good laugh was, I can't have you bumbling around, freezing your own head like a fool," he added. Oh sure, kick me while I'm down! Thanks a lot Cyril!

"Come now Cyril, you of all people have no room to talk,"

Suddenly Terrador came into the room, "I haven't forgotten your first ice breath attempt, froze your entire body solid, we had to have the Fire Guardian thaw you out if I remember correctly," he pointed out with a small chuckle.

Cyril however took great offense to this, "I was only a hatchling!" he protested, his cheeks glowing a light shade of pink from the embarrassment, "Besides, I remember a _certain_ future earth guardian that accidentally knocked his own teacher unconscious with his first earth breath attempt!" he quickly snapped back.

However, Terrador just chuckled, "The point is Cyril, we all have to start somewhere, I think you're forgetting Spyro has no memory, so he's basically starting from square one," he pointed out. "Honestly Cyril, I think the fact he was able to conjure up ice on his own at all is quite impressive for a dragon in Spyro's position," he added.

Cyril however just rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm sure the great ice dragons of old watching from the great beyond are quite impressed with Spyro's ability to freeze his own head!" he said sarcastically. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to try to teach Spyro the **right** way to utilize the element of ice!" he added.

Terrador just shook his head and left, leaving me alone with Cyril… oh joy. "Alright you, now that you're done humiliating yourself," said Cyril, "Let us learn to use ice effectively," he added.

I sighed, knowing full well this wasn't going to be a fun experience, Cyril's personality was going to be a hindrance, along with the knowledge that Cyril was still kind of mad at me for the whole leaving them thing. "Alright, now when using your ice breath, it's important you release it quickly, otherwise you'll freeze yourself, as you are well aware," he said.

You know Cyril, the constant cheap shots are not helping! "Now try it again, but this time, make sure it doesn't sit in your mouth again," he told me. Yeah, I'll do that Cyril! I began to focus my ice magic again, letting it build before making sure the second it reached my mouth I released it.

I laughed, "I did it!" I exclaimed.

"Oh I wouldn't say that," Cyril said, before I could even ask why, I noticed I couldn't move my legs, I looked down to see I had somehow managed to freeze my own feet to the floor. "Son of a-" I began, struggling to free myself from my own ice! Man, I bet Sub-Zero never had to put up with this crap!

I heard Cyril groan as he approached me, "This is going to be a long day…" he said before pulling me free from the ice. I just don't get it, why was I struggling so much with my ice breath? This was the second time in a row I've managed to freeze myself solid like an idiot! "You released it too quickly! You have to time it just right Spyro, not too quick, but not to slowly," Cyril instructed me.

God, why did dragon magic have to be so goddamn cryptic?! Why I can't I just aim and shoot? No I have to aim it just right, time it just right, jump through a million hoops! God dammit!

Come on! I have to be able to get this down eventually right? I mean, I'm assuming I did it before my death, so I had to be able to relearn it right? How hard can this be?

* * *

 ** _Later…_**

* * *

I have spent god knows how many hours with Cyril just trying in vain to get a handle on my ice breath to no avail. So far the only things I've managed to freeze are various parts of my own body! I was embarrassed, frustrated, and I think my scales are becoming numb from being frozen so much. Worse still, I think I'm out of mana too, wasting it all on failing at ice breath, wonderful.

Cyril himself was clearly losing patience, just laying there with an annoyed look on his face as I laid on the floor in a pile of shattered ice and failure. "I think we should take a break, clearly we aren't getting anywhere right now," Cyril said. I offered no argument, this was a hopeless effort, the ways of ice breath magic are apparently beyond me.

Cyril got up and left me alone in the dojo to stew in my failure, god why is this so hard?! It's just ice but yet I keep screwing it up over and over again! I began to hear the buzzing of Sparx's wings coming closer, I was wondering where he went, "So… ice training go well?" he asked me.

I just glared at him, "I don't wanna talk about it," I grumbled.

Sparx buzzed around my head, "Oh come on! Don't be so glum! You'll get it eventually! Maybe…" he said. You're not helping Sparx, you're really not!

I slowly picked myself up off the floor, the ice shards beneath me cracking under my shifting weight, "The other elements were so much easier, why is this one giving me such a hard time?" I asked.

Sparx just sort of raised an eyebrow, "Are we forgetting the time you zapped me trying to learn electricity?" he asked, oh thanks for reminding me I almost killed you once Sparx! Real confidence builder!

I shook my head, "Even with electricity I got it eventually, but Cyril and I have been working at this all day and I can't seem to freeze anything that isn't myself!" I explained. Sparx began to snicker, oh I'm so glad you find that funny Sparx! "So what's up? You come here just to laugh at me?" I asked rather bitterly, not really appreciating his behavior to put it nicely.

Sparx stopped himself for a moment, "Oh… Volteer told me to tell you, the evil she dragon woke up, she's still a little out of it, but she's looking better than she was yesterday at least," he explained. My eyes widened, Cynder's awake?! She's okay?! Without thinking I rushed to the infirmary as fast as my legs could carry me, "Whoa hey! Wait for me!" Sparx called to me.

But I just kept running, clumsily skidding across the floor at every turn, I had been so worried about Cynder, hearing she recovered was just the shot to the arm I needed to pull me out of my ice breath related funk! Finally something goes right for once! Finally the universe decides to give me a break and let me hear some good news for a change instead of the usual doom and gloom!

I was so excited, running so fast, I didn't see Volteer in time and ran my stupid face right into his chest, bouncing right off and falling flat on my back. "Goodness! Spyro are you alright?!" Volteer said as I scrambled to my feet. "You should be more cautious! You could have seriously injured yourself!" Volteer scolded me.

But I didn't care, Cynder was okay! She wasn't dead! I couldn't help but bounce around like an excited puppy, I was even wagging my tail! "Is it true Volteer? Is she awake? She's okay?" I asked.

Volteer chuckled a little, no doubt finding my excitement quite amusing. "Yes, I admit, I was surprised how quickly she recovered, but yes, she is okay," he said. It was the best news I've heard in days, knowing Malefor hadn't taken my closest friend in this goddamn world away was like a dream come true. "Although she isn't completely recovered, she still needs to heal, but we at least know now we aren't going to lose her," he clarified.

Without even thinking I darted into the room like a bolt of lightning, I could see Cynder laying in the cot, her emerald eyes half open, I couldn't stop myself from running up to her and nuzzling her, "Cynder! You're okay! Oh god I was so worried! I thought I lost you!" I said.

Cynder began to giggle, "Okay Spyro… I get it! Lay off you big goof!" she said with a laugh, her voice sounded tired, like she had only just woken up, "It's going to take more than a little poke in the ribs to take me down," she added.

We both shared a little laugh, I was so glad she was alright, I didn't even want to think of what being here would be like without her by my side, for once I caught a lucky break, for once I had something to be happy about. My best friend was going to recover! But… then I remembered what our last interaction had been, the happiness died a little, "Cynder… I'm so sorry I yelled at you back there… you were just trying to look out for me," I said.

Cynder smiled and shook her head, "It's okay Spyro, I shouldn't be babying you, memories or not, I should have trusted you to be able to handle yourself," she said, but then out of nowhere her smile suddenly faded, "What's **not** okay is that you tried to go after Malefor by yourself!" She said.

I was caught completely off guard, Volteer must have told her about what happened last night. "Cynder… I can't just keep letting this happen to you guys, I wanted to put a stop to it!" I tried to explain but Cynder was having none of it, putting a claw to my snout again.

"I don't care! You're not ready to fight Malefor yet!" she snapped. Her voice was still tired, weak, but still somehow managed to have some force behind it. "I told you we're doing that together! And I meant it!" She added.

She's injured, laying in a bed from a stab wound, but yet she thinks she can still come with me to fight Malefor?! "Cynder you're injured! Malefor's not going to wait for you to recover! If something happened to you-" I began but once again was cut off.

"And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you either! I'll heal, and if memory serves, **you're** not exactly at one hundred percent perfect health either there purple boy," she said, poking my bad leg with her claw, sending a sharp sting of pain through it as if to emphasize her point. "Spyro, I want you to promise me something," she began, "Promise me when we face Malefor, we'll do it **together** , no more of this trying to run off and do it by yourself crap!" she said.

I wanted to tell her no, that I wouldn't risk her life like that, that I already almost lost her once an wasn't prepared to go through that again. But the look on her face told me she wasn't taking no for an answer. She was hellbent on joining me to face Malefor, even if she had to drag her broken body there right now she was going to help me fight Malefor.

It wasn't a battle I was going to win, I could already tell I couldn't convince her to sit this one out even if I bolted her to the bed. "Only if you promise not to get hurt like this again," I said, I knew it wasn't exactly a promise she could keep, Malefor wasn't going to care, he wanted to kill her just like any of my other friends, but I wanted to put the thought in her head that I didn't want this happening again. To let her know I wanted her to stay safe, so that maybe she can avoid getting hurt in our inevitable battle with Malefor.

Cynder nodded, "Deal," she said, she then noticed something, "Spyro, why are you covered in ice shards?" She asked me. I craned my head over to see a few ice shards were clinging to my purple scales like dandruff.

I didn't want to tell her, I could already feel the embarrassment coming on, but she was just going to keep asking so, "I'm uh… I'm having trouble with my… uh… ice breath," I confessed, god it was like pulling teeth trying to get those words out.

Cynder giggled a little, only serving to worsen my embarrassment, "You'll get it Spyro, I know you will," she said, then suddenly, out of nowhere, she kissed my nose! Just up and popped one right on my snout.

I didn't know what to think at first, I figured in her weakened state of mind she just sort of acted on impulse, but still… it just came from nowhere, and weirder still, I didn't mind it so much, dare I say it actually felt kinda… nice. However Cynder seemed to realize what she had just done and got a bit skittish, "Uh… can we forget I just did that?" She asked me, her cheeks becoming slightly reddish.

I just blinked, kind of embarrassed myself at how much I enjoyed that kiss, "Uh… y… yeah… sure," I said, feeling a bit flustered. An awkward silence filled the room as neither of us really knew how to proceed after… uh… whatever that was.

Salvation finally came in the form of Sparx, who just now decided to join us in the room, he seemed out of breath, like he had just run a marathon, "Holy crap Spyro! How about next time when I tell you one of your friends recovered, you don't nearly break the sound barrier trying to get to them okay? My little wings can't take that kind of abuse!" He said.

And welcome back embarrassment, I did not miss you, I hear Cynder giggle from behind me, "Did he now, why Spyro, I didn't know you cared so much," she teased me. Oh god Sparx, why do you torment me so? Sparx and Cynder both shared a laugh at my expense, as I just slowly shrunk inward… why me?

* * *

 **A/N: I thought we could do with a more light hearted chapter after the last two very dramatic and emotional chapters we've had. Don't worry though, we'll get back to the emotional stuff! We still have a few more chapters to go after all!**

 **I want to warn you guys though, with Christmas coming up, I don't know if it's going to affect my chapter output or not, I just wanted to give you fine folks a bit of warning just in case I vanish over the next couple of days. Christmas tends to consume my life for a while (yes, I'm one of THOSE people). I'm hoping it won't affect anything, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up just in case.**


	20. It's all in the Mind

**Chapter 19: It's all in the Mind**

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Knowing that Cynder was okay had taken quite the load off my mind, although I'm sure Volteer was wishing she were still asleep, as she was very much against staying in bed despite the fact she had a lot of healing to do before she was ready to even **walk** let alone help me fight Malefor. But Volteer wasn't having any of it and basically forbade her from leaving the bed until sufficiently healed.

I meanwhile was trying once more to get a grasp on my ice breath, to no avail of course, I lost count of how many snowballs I've had to spit out like frosty loogies. At least I wasn't freezing **myself** anymore, so it was progress, but unless I was planning on having a snowball fight with Malefor it wasn't much use to me.

It was kind of frustrating actually, I was one element away from being ready to finally end Malefor's sick games, but of course, that element had to be the most difficult and infuriating one of them all. My mouth felt like I had been chewing ice cubes for the past half hour, my tongue becoming numb from all the cold ice flowing through my mouth only to become another useless snowball. But I just had to bear it, I couldn't give Malefor any more time to hurt my friends. Come on you stupid ice breath! Work!

I've been at this so long, I was beginning to tire, annoyed and frustrated, I just wanted to master this god damn element so I could be done with it! God dammit! Just work! I tried to blow another ice blast, only for nothing to escape my maw but warm air. Out of mana again, dammit! I roared in annoyance, kicking a downed training dummy.

"Uh… am I interrupting something?"

I took a moment to pull myself from my own mounting frustration to see Hunter of all people standing in the doorway, his entire shoulder covered in bandages, "Hunter? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be… ya know… recovering?" I asked. I was noticing how Hunter was propping himself up with the doorframe, a pained grimace on his face, he was clearly still in a lot of pain, why was he up? Walking around like **that**?!

Hunter grunted a little as he walked his way over to me, "I'm a warrior of Avalar Spyro, I can handle a little pain," he said. "I came when I heard word that Cynder had been injured, I wanted to make sure you were alright, I would have come sooner, but the healers insisted I needed bed rest," he then added.

For some reason, when Hunter mentioned Cynder's name, I flashed back to that kiss on the nose she gave me earlier. Why my mind went there I had no clue, but the memory caused me to blush regardless. "Sh… she's fine, she just woke up not to long ago actually," I said.

However Hunter furrowed his brow, annoyed for some reason, "That's good to hear Spyro, but it wasn't what I asked," he stated. "Are **you** alright? I heard from Terrador you tried to go after Malefor last night," he said.

Of course he had to bring that up didn't he? I wasn't going to apologize for trying to protect my friends! "Yeah, I did," I said flatly, I wasn't exactly willing to have this conversation **again.**

However, the look on Hunter's face told me he was of the same mind as everyone else, that I somehow did something wrong when I really didn't, "You don't sound very remorseful of it," he said in an accusatory tone.

I glared at him, "Should I be? I'm not apologizing for trying to protect you guys!" I snapped, I was getting real sick of this conversation, add this to the frustration I was already feeling from failing to master ice and it was a wonder I wasn't being **more** harsh than I was already.

Hunter met my glare with one of his own, "You **should** show regret for being irrational and allowing fear to cloud your judgement!" he snapped back. "Spyro, I appreciate you wish to protect me and the rest of your friends, but throwing yourself at Malefor before you're ready would have solved nothing, trust me when I say, this way is better," he said.

I felt a surge of anger build up inside me, something about that statement just really got under my skin for some reason, like he was basically telling me that sitting here waiting to lose everything I love is somehow better than putting an end to it now, "REALLY?!" I roared, my voice echoing through the empty dojo, "This?! This is better?! Sitting here, failing to master ice while that son of a bitch is still out there planning god knows what, how is that better Hunter?! Please do tell me because I'd love to know!" I yelled. My pent up frustration over my situation finally boiling over.

Hunter to his credit, didn't show any signs of being offended, just maintaining this blank expression while I yelled at him. "Because you're no help to any of us **dead** Spyro," he said flatly, almost monotone. "Look, I know our time together was short before your death, so I'm not exactly the expert on your character, but I **do** know you're capable of being quite rational," he then said, "Think about it, if you died confronting Malefor… where would that leave the rest of us? You can't protect us if you're dead Spyro, that is why what you did confounds me, you had to know how badly that would have ended if Volteer hadn't stopped you," he said.

"I don't need another lecture," I said before attempting to walk away, but Hunter suddenly grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to look at him.

"I think you do!" He said with a slight growl, "Don't think just because you're a purple dragon means you're invincible, we both know that isn't true," he added. "A good warrior knows when to strike, and when to prepare, this is a time to prepare, only after you've done so will the time come to strike," he explained.

I got what he was saying, and maybe he was right, but that didn't change how awful this situation really was, nor how much I just wanted it to stop. "But how can I do that when I can't use my ice breath" I asked.

Hunter sighed, "I'm not a dragon Spyro, the ways of the breath elements are beyond me, but perhaps this is due to some kind of mental block? Perhaps your built up stress is sealing your ice abilities away? A clouded mind can unbalance even the most skilled of warriors," He said.

Despite Hunter sounding like a fortune cookie, he might actually have a point, after all, I remember running into a similar mental hurdle when trying to master electricity, being so upset I hurt Sparx that I couldn't control my electric breath. Hunter suddenly rose to his feet, "I'm going to check in on Cynder, I wish you luck in your efforts to reconnect with your elements," he said before leaving.

Was that really my problem? Were Malefor's head games really getting to me so badly it was affecting my learning process? But if that was the case, how do I fix that exactly? I can't **not** worry about my friends, but I needed my ice breath so I could protect them! I just wanted to learn ice already so I could protect them! But I just kept hitting a wall every time I tried, what was my problem? I didn't have forever to struggle with this so I needed to find out soon.

That's when it hit me, **that** was my problem, not that I cared about my friends and wanted to keep them safe, but that I was too **anxious** to learn ice, too impatient, too afraid of losing them to actually focus and learn my element, too stressed out about failing and failing. I needed to set that aside, I needed to stop getting frustrated and stop trying to force the ice to come. But how do I get it come on it's own with all this stress around me?

I decided to try something, an old stress relief technique my mom taught me once, or… Jason… rather… man was that still confusing. I began to count to ten under my breath, then back down from ten, eyes closed the whole time. Trying my best to steady my mind, to relax myself, **focus** myself. Blocking every worry, every fear, every bit of frustration and stress from my mind. It wasn't easy, something like this almost never was.

It felt like hours had passed as I tried to clear my mind, at some point I had stopped counting and just sat there, eyes closed, still as stone, deep in a sort of meditative like trance. Everything around me suddenly ceased to be, just the blackness of my closed eyelids, the steadiness of my breathing, and the rhythmic beating of my heart. It was almost a zen like feeling, practically an out of body experience almost.

I felt a cold energy welling up inside me, expanding outward, like the whole room's temperature suddenly dipped into the negatives, it was building and building, I felt the sharp cold nip at my scales, coming and going in rhythm with my breathing. This time felt so different from the others, I actually felt my control over the cold, the ice.

I felt myself begin to slowly rise from the floor, levitating, weightless, but in complete control. Images flashed in my head of all the times I had used my ice breath before my death. Suddenly my eyes shot open as a shockwave of cold air surged throughout the dojo, flash freezing everything in range. I slowly floated back to the floor, I only realized once my feet planted themselves onto solid ground that I had just unleashed my ice fury.

I began to experiment, blowing a jet stream of cold air from my maw, with one mental thought the stream changed to a volley of razor sharp ice shards. I had done it! Somehow I've done it! I've finally managed to get over my own mental hurdle and regain mastery over ice, and with that, mastery over all four of my elements.

I raised my front paws into the air as I cheered as loudly as my lungs could muster, "I did it! Oh my god I actually did it! I can't believe that actually worked!" I said, I was elated, finally! FINALLY! I had every piece necessary to finally confront Malefor! God damn do I feel good right now! Ow! Overextended my bad leg… yeah that hurt… but who cares?! I mastered ICE!

I then noticed all three Guardians enter the room, their mouths agape at the frozen dojo, "Forgive me for being rash, but… I believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest Spyro has now mastered his ice breath!" Volteer said, poking the frozen wall of the dojo as if checking to see if the ice was real.

All three were surprised, but Cyril was clearly the **most** surprised of the trio, "Bu… but… he was freezing his own head a mere two hours ago! It's just not **possible**!" said Cyril, absolutely flabbergasted I managed to master ice by myself.

Terrador just sort of stared at me as I celebrated my mastery of the elements like a kid who just got a new toy for Christmas, I didn't care that I was probably making an ass of myself right now, I was just way too happy to finally have the means to protect my friends! "You seem quite pleased with yourself young dragon," commented Terrador with a chuckle.

I moved my eyes to the Guardians, a little embarrassed now about how carried away I got with my celebration, "So… does this mean I can go after Malefor now?" I asked. I was hopeful they would say yes, I just wanted all of this madness to be done with already. Sure my leg was still bad and Cynder was even worse off, but still...

My heart sank when Terrador shook his head, "You forget that you and Cynder both have injuries that need healing," he pointed out, "But the end of this ordeal **is** coming within sight Spyro, of that you can be certain," he added.

Finally, at long last I had the tools necessary to stop Malefor's game, finally ready to take my shot at that bastard. This time… I'm making damn sure Malefor **doesn't** come back!

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 **A/N: I was originally planning on writing this chapter yesterday, but sadly I had to spend most of yesterday waiting for the damn FedEx guy to deliver my new laptop, and once I got it and set everything up, I was in no mood for writing.**

 **This chapter wound up being a bit on the short side, but trust me, the next couple of chapters are going to be heavy hitters, no more shenanigans in the dragon temple, now begins Spyro and Cynder's march to confront Malefor. See you then!**


	21. The Long Road

**Chapter 20: The Long Road**

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A day had passed since I fully mastered my elements, everything seemed to be in place for us to finally take the fight to Malefor, Cynder and I were recovering from our injuries pretty quickly thanks to a few magical healing gems, which I had learned were known as "Spirit Gems". My leg was already starting to feel better, although Cynder was clearly still in pain from her stab wound, as i could see her grimace in pain with each footstep she took. But she insisted she could deal with it, neither of us were all that willing to wait to confront Malefor, we've both had enough of the old Dark Master and his sick games.

Cynder, Sparx, and I all made our way to the Guardians chambers together, despite me wanting to strike out on this journey two days ago, I was still feeling a bit nervous now that it seemed the time had finally come to face Malefor. With all the emotion and worry I had felt at the time, I had forgotten about my fear of what would happen once we **did** finally confront each other. I didn't want to sacrifice myself again, I couldn't put my friends through that a second time. But yet… Malefor was among the most powerful creatures in existence from what I understood, how was I going to beat something like that? I mean, I almost got choked out by a Grublin of all things, what chance did I realistically have against someone like Malefor?

I was scared, very scared, I didn't want to die again, not after I had spent so long trying to regain what I had lost here, not after how attached I've become to everyone here. But I knew if I didn't stop Malefor, I'd lose them regardless, so what else could I do? It's funny, at this time yesterday I couldn't wait to beat Malefor's face in, now I was terrified to face him, there's an irony in there somewhere I'm sure.

"Spyro? Are you okay? You seem distracted," Cynder suddenly asked me, pulling me right out of my thoughts. Once again I wasn't hiding my worry very well, I really need to work on that at some point.

I took a deep breath, knowing Cynder and I have had a conversation about this before, "Yeah, I'm just… a little nervous is all," I said, being a bit more vague than I probably should have been. I didn't want Cynder to worry about me, we both needed to be laser focused if we were going to have any hopes of beating Malefor.

However, "Spyro I told you before, we can beat him, we've done it before, you don't need to be scared," she told me, once again reading me like an open book. It sometimes terrified me how easily she was able to do that, to see right through me and find out exactly what I was really thinking.

"I just… I don't want to die again Cynder, what if I have to sacrifice myself again?" I said, I would have said more but Cynder suddenly moved herself right in my path, forcing me to stop in my tracks.

I couldn't help but shrink inwardly a little, Cynder could be very intimidating sometimes, even when she really didn't mean to be, "That's not going to happen Spyro," she said, rather bitterly too, as if offended by the very suggestion that I could die again. "No one's dying here except Malefor," she added. It was clear from her body language she was worried about something, as I could see her visibly shaking, she was trying her hardest to hide it though, forcing an intense glare. Was she scared I was going to die too? That had to be it, what else **could** it be? I mean, it was possible she was scared for her **own** life, but something about the way she spoke, the way she was looking at me, told me her concern was for me not herself.

Cynder then suddenly wrapped her neck around mine, resting her chin on the back of my neck, "We'll get through this Spyro, and after it's all done and over with we'll get back to work on getting the rest of your memories back," she said. I wanted to believe her, that we'd get through all of this in one piece, but the realist in me know it wouldn't be so simple, but I couldn't tell her that, not when it was so clear she was desperately clinging to that hope that we could ride off into the sunset together after all this was done.

"Oh don't mind me you two, I'll just float here while you two get... **unsettlingly** cuddly," Sparx suddenly chimed in. Cynder and I both pulled back the second we realized what this must have looked like from Sparx's perspective. "Well, now that you two are done with… whatever the hell that was… I believe we have three old guys to talk to?" Sparx said before flying off towards the Guardian's chambers.

Cynder and I shared an awkward chuckle before following the dragonfly, soon we found all three Guardians gathered around that weird pool of water thing, Cynder and I sat ourselves at the opposite end of the pool.

A few seconds of silence ticked away before someone decided to finally speak, "Spyro, Cynder," Terrador spoke, "While I would prefer to allow you two more time to fully heal, I fear we cannot ignore Malefor for much longer, it's been three days since his last attack and I do not wish to risk another," he said before turning to me, "Spyro, you have regained mastery over your dragon elements, and as much as I would love to allow you time to regain your lost memories, time is of the essence, and you seem to be as ready as you can be to face Malefor once more," he said.

Volteer stepped forward a little, "We've been having the city guard track Malefor's movements while you were busy training Spyro, they've narrowed his location to the northernmost regions of the continent, you and Cynder are unfortunately going to have to ascertain his exact location yourselves," he explained. Of course it was never going to be easy was it?

"You three have quite the journey ahead of you," Cyril said, "But we all have confidence in your abilities, although," Cyril added before shooting me a glare, "Try not to die again Spyro," he said. I wasn't exactly planning on it Cyril! But I understood why he felt the need to mention it, it was clear he still hasn't completely forgiven me for my first death, and wanted to make it clear he didn't want there to be a second one.

"We wish you three good luck on your journey," Terrador said, "May your ancestors guide you to victory," he added. With that, the three of us left to finally begin our journey to stop Malefor once and for all. Stepping out of that temple for the first time in what's felt like an eternity, the sky was dark, grey, almost foreboding, which in hindsight, given the circumstances, was quite fitting.

The city was still damaged from Malefor's last attack, with some buildings and homes sporting large holes or cracks. Few townsfolk could be seen walking the streets, I did wonder if my outburst from the last time I was out in the actual city was still on their minds or not, this almost seemed confirmed when some passers by gave me nervous looks or awkwardly shuffled away from me as if I was going to randomly pounce on them and tear their throats out or something.

I wasn't proud of how out of control I had gotten that night, of how close I had come to hurting innocent people. But being out here, being regarded with a degree of fear, it made it almost impossible to do so. Every frightened face was a living reminder of the line I had almost crossed, something I was beginning to have a hard time dealing with. It was a thing that had been pushed from my mind in favor of the panic and worry I had felt over Malefor himself, but was suddenly coming back with a vengeance, almost as if making up for lost time.

I tried my best to push it out of my mind, I had to keep my mind focused, I couldn't afford to psych myself out before even confronting Malefor. But my anxiety refused to leave it alone, demanding I put my focus on my darker half. Even as Cynder and I finally reached the gates of Warfang, thus leaving those frightened faces behind, my fears still lingered, unwilling to be let go.

Come on Spyro, put it out of your mind! You have bigger problems to deal with right now! Just relax you big purple spaz! Ugh! I needed to focus my mind on something else, **anything** else!

"Spyro!"

I jumped, Cynder's commanding voice violently tearing me from my introspection like a driver slamming on the breaks. "Did you hear me? I said that we should start flying towards the north," she said, apparently she had been talking while I was lost in my own thoughts and I had managed to completely tune her out. "Are you alright? You're not still on that whole dying thing are you?" she asked me.

Good job Spyro, now she's worried. Granted, it wasn't because of what she believed it to be, but I didn't know if I wanted to discuss my other half again. "I… uh… I'm okay," I lied. I just wanted to stop thinking about it was all, and the last thing I needed was for Cynder to be distracted worrying about me.

But sadly, the look on her face told me she saw right through my fib. "You're a terrible liar Spyro," said Cynder, "Talk to me, what's on your mind?" she added. I guess my poker face was in desperate need of refinement.

Cynder began to walk alongside me, seemingly tabling the flying idea to have an earnest conversation with me. A conversation I really didn't want to have, but I knew Cynder too well to think she'd leave it alone. "Did Volteer tell you what happened after you got stabbed?" I asked her.

Cynder's expression was that of confusion, "Not really, just that you tried to go after Malefor by yourself," she said. I should have figured that, Volteer must have either forgot about my outburst or tried to help me save face by not mentioning it.

"Directly after you got stabbed, the Grublins… they… they began to laugh… or at least… what seemed like laughter to me, it's kinda hard to tell with those things," I began to explain. "It… it was like they were mocking you… it… it made me so angry… and coupled with how scared I was that you might have died… I… I shifted to my darker self again… killed them all.." I continued.

Cynder still seemed confused, "Spyro, Grublins aren't really "alive", you shouldn't feel bad about killing them," she said, well I was **aware** of that Cynder! That wasn't the point.

"That's not what's bothering me," I stated, "It was what I did after that bothers me," I said before taking a deep breath, I was kind of scared of what she would think of me for doing what I did back then, I remembered she had told me once she didn't want me picking fights for her sake, and that was exactly what I almost did. "There were… a group of townsfolk watching from a distance… and… all I could think of when I saw them was how the city had been treating you… combined with the anger I felt for the Grublins and what had happened to you, I… I lashed out at them… I… I actually wanted to hurt them! I probably **would** have too if Terrador hadn't stopped me," I explained, "Seeing the townsfolk as we walked by earlier, seeing their frightened faces… I couldn't help but remember that, remembering how close I came to hurting innocent people… now I can't get my mind off it, I… I'm scared I might hurt someone, or worse," I finished explaining.

Cynder just sort of glared at me for a moment, making me fear that I had made a huge mistake telling her this, "Spyro I told you not to pick fights for my sake!" she snapped at me. But, she quickly composed herself, understanding that wasn't really the point either. "Spyro, I don't blame you for being afraid of that darker side of you, trust me, if anyone knows what it's like to fear their own darkness it's me," she said. "But you can't let your mind focus on something like that, especially now when we have Malefor to worry about," she pointed out.

She was right of course, but that didn't change the fact I had this other self just waiting to take me over again, "Spyro, I know you a lot better than you think I do," she told me, taking my front paws in her own, "Whatever darkness is inside you, if someone like me could beat it… you can too," she said.

I don't know what it was about Cynder, just something about her made those words hold far more meaning to me than normal. Like she was the final authority on everything as far as I was concerned. I guess it was just how much I trusted her, how close we had become as friends.

However, the moment was suddenly ruined when we heard Sparx suddenly cry out. Both Cynder and I turned to see we were suddenly surrounded by… mandrills? Or were they baboons? I don't know, I'm not a zoologist! There was something unsettlingly familiar about them though, they gave off a similar vibe to the Grublins, this primal feeling of dread that, while not nearly as strong as the one given off by Malefor, was still there.

The primates were all dressed in makeshift armor, crafted by tattered pieces of leather, scavenged hunks of metal, or in some cases, even animal skulls. They all looked disheveled, their fur matted and disgusting, their eyes sunken in, their skin covered in ghastly warts and scabs. The stench they gave off was nauseating, almost enough to make me violently ill.

One was holding Sparx tightly in it's fist, the poor dragonfly trying in desperation to pull himself free, but he clearly lacked the strength required to do so. "Well well… would you look who it is boys?" the primate said with an insidious smirk. "Spyro and Cynder… the two dragons most responsible for the sorry state our once proud race finds itself in," it added.

I just stood there, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to save Sparx, I couldn't take my eyes off my dragonfly brother, terrified the monkey would crush him in it's fist like a styrofoam cup any second. But I knew if I made too sudden of a move the primate would do just that. "Do you two know how long it took us to recover from that curse Malefor put us under?" the primate asked. I of course, had no clue what it was talking about, I didn't even know who these guys were.

But Cynder clearly did, wearing this disgusted look on her face, "That was your own fault if I remembered correctly, Malefor only cursed you because you turned on him in a desperate power grab," she corrected the baboon.

The baboon squinted it's eyes, staring daggers at Cynder, "Semantics," it said, "The point is, we apes have been waiting too long to get revenge on you dragons in particular for far too long," it growled. Apes? Part of me wanted to correct the "ape", but something inside me, for whatever reason, felt the title of "ape" fit for some bizarre reason.

The other apes then began to whip themselves into a frenzy, screeching and waving their tattered weapons in the air like barbarians prepared to go to war. "You two are going to die today… and when you're dead… Malefor is next," it said. I really doubted these losers could take Malefor, but something about the situation made me a touch fearful.

Snow began to fall, gradually at first, but quickly picking up, as if the weather were trying to set the mood for the battle that was no doubt about to take place. Cynder seemed all too ready to tear into these apes, but I was still fixed on Sparx, who was still in the ape's clutches, beating on its hand with his tiny little fists.

The ape, to my horror, suddenly noticed how fixated I was on Sparx. "What's the matter purple dragon? Are you afraid I'll kill your worthless insect? Don't think I haven't noticed you gawking at him the whole time," the ape said, my heart began to race, fearing he was about to kill Sparx! Please god… don't kill him! Please! "You know, I haven't eaten a dragonfly in a while… I bet this little pest is quite… crunchy," the ape said as he brought Sparx closer to his face.

I began to hyperventilate, poor Sparx shared my terror, faced with the very real possibility this ape was about to literally bite his head off. "Come on man! You don't want to eat me! I'm full of fat and cholesterol! I'll go straight to your hips!" Sparx said, trying and failing to use humor to mask how terrified he was. "S… Spyro! Do something! HELP!" Sparx cried.

I couldn't watch this anymore! I felt my anger building, until finally I couldn't stand it anymore! "Leave him alone!" I screamed before launching myself at the ape, cracking my horns against his skull like a ram, the impact forcing the ape to let Sparx go. Sparx quickly flew himself behind me, however the apes soon began to surround me on all sides.

The ape I headbutted began to rise to its feet, running it's palm across it's forehead, noticing blood from the wound I had made with an odd disinterest, "You really should have thought that through better little dragon," it said before bringing it's gaze back to me, "Kill them," it said flatly before the apes sprang into an attack…

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 **A/N: I wanted to add a bit more to Spyro and Cynder's journey to confronting Malefor other than just them flying around before finding him like I did in the original. That and I didn't want to leave than mention of the apes I made waaaay back in the early Spyro chapters unresolved like that.**

 **In the meantime though, enjoy your cliffhanger! See ya next chapter!**


	22. The Value of Life

**Chapter 21: The Value of Life**

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Everything seemed to spiral out of control the second the head ape ordered the others to kill us, the apes dog piled me, piling their bodies on top of mine and clawing at my purple scales like a bunch of wild animals. No finesse, no tactics, no technique, just feral savagery. My scales offered little if any actual protection from their surprisingly sharp claws, drawing blood in no time, stinging pain erupting from several areas of my body. I tried to throw them off, to escape the pile, but every time I knocked one back, they sprang right back up and launched themselves back at me.

It was so different that fighting the Grublins, the Grublins had some form of rudimentary tactics, possibly stemming from Malefor's control over them, they fought like a gang, simplistic but with a logic to it. The apes however were more like feral animals, constantly flinging themselves at their enemies, trying to use brute force to win. Kind of ironic that the grunting monsters were more tactical than the saipiant primates capable of speech. I'm sure if I were more used to fighting I'd fare much better, but alas, I wasn't. I could already feel myself tiring as I tried in vain to fight the apes off. God would at least one of them stay down? Just one?

I noticed that Cynder was having a far easier time with fighting the apes, I hadn't really gotten the chance to see her in action like this. She fought like clockwork, never missing a beat, easily dodging and countering each attack an ape threw at her. Cutting them down with ruthless efficiency, it was obvious this wasn't her first rodeo. If only I could say the same for myself, but again, I remembered so little about my life before my death, my fighting skill, assuming I had any, were sadly among the many memories that still remained under lock and key.

I tried to keep what Cynder had taught me about fighting in mind, keeping my stance wide, trying to give the apes as few openings for counter attacks as I could, but my inexperience betrayed me every time I thought I was getting the upper hand. God, if I was doing this bad against the apes, I was terrified how badly my fight with Malefor would go, if I even made it that far. Dammit, come on Spyro, these guys are nothing! You can't get beaten by a bunch of brutes like these guys!

I began to try using my breath elements, specifically my electric breath, I wasn't sure why I defaulted to it so much, I guess it was because of how effective it was in dealing with large crowds. This method seemed to work much better, as more of the apes began to drop, passing out from the pain one by one. But I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep it up, again, I was beginning to tire from all the fighting, and the beating I had taken over the course of this brawl was starting to take its toll, even standing was proving to be a bit difficult.

However, out of nowhere I felt something kick my underbelly, taking me right off my feet and causing me to tumble across the snow. "You don't look too good purple dragon," I heard the voice of the head ape say. "What's wrong? Tired already? Too bad, I was hoping you'd provide more bite than this," he added before kicking me in the head. The blow felt like getting beamed with a softball, my head stinging even long after the hit landed. "I think I'll wear your head as a helmet, so that all who confront me will know it was **I** who killed the "legendary" purple dragon!" he laughed.

Okay… first off… eww… second, I needed to turn the tides here, I wasn't really willing to die so I could be this loser's new headress. I began to force myself to my feet, "I'm… not… done yet!" I said, I needed a means to take this guy out, but how? He clearly knew his way around a fight better than I did. The ape launched himself at me, fist raised high, I quickly sidestepped the swing when he came into range. Not that difficult given how he telegraphed that so badly he might as well have had a neon sign around his neck that said "I'm going to hit you with this hand you idiot". You'd think someone who fights as much as this guy would know better than that.

Wait… that's it! This guy may be strong, but he's dumb as a post! He kept throwing attacks at me, no tactics, no intelligence behind them, just wild shots in the dark. I may lack experience, but I certainly had more smarts than this guy, I could use this! Maybe instead of trying to fight him I should let him tire himself out? I'd have to be quick on my feet though, something easier said than done given how tired my body was.

I put my plan into action, keeping myself moving, but keeping in range so the ape would keep throwing attacks my way, missing each one. It was weird how easy it was for me to do so, almost instinctual, maybe I still subconsciously remembered some things about fighting? "Hold still!" the ape growled, but I didn't listen, I just kept dodging, I could already see him beginning to tire, his breathing becoming heavier, his attacks more sluggish. "Come on you purple whelpling! FIGHT ME!" the ape roared.

Well, if that's what you want. I waiting for him to throw another sloppy punch before taking the opening to nail him right in the gut with a strong headbutt. The shot caught him completely off guard, the ape rolled across the ground before getting to his feet. He was still tired given how slumped over his stance was, how exaggerated his breathing was. But that didn't stop him from fighting.

He flung himself at me again, but I had a solid strategy at my disposal now, I kept making him miss before taking another open shot once he was sufficiently tired. The moron never even once thought to adjust his tactics to compensate for mine, he just kept trying to hit me and failing each time. This would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic.

Eventually the ape collapsed from exhaustion, falling flat on his back, I quickly hopped onto his chest, pressing my right paw down in order to keep him down, raising my left for the final strike. However… I couldn't seem to will myself to actually finish him off. My paw refused to came down, at first I didn't know why, but then… it dawned on me.

I noticed the fear in the ape's eyes, he knew what was coming, he looked pathetic, helpless, he didn't want to die, all that savage confidence and hatred crumbling before the fear of his own mortality. I then realized why I couldn't do it… why I couldn't kill him… it was different with The Grublins, they were soulless monsters created by Malefor, it was debatable if Grublins even qualified as alive in the first place. But the apes **were** alive, they had lives of their own, wants, desires, aspirations, possibly even families. I've never been faced with actually killing someone before, not as far as I could remember at least… how can I do that? How can I end someone's life like this? Especially something sapient like this ape clearly was.

"Spyro! What are you waiting for?! Kill him!" I heard Cynder call to me. My breathing began to quicken, panic setting in, torn between what was smart and what was right. The apes were clearly evil, vile creatures, but they were still living things, I'd spent my whole life as Jason being told how wrong it is to take a life, but now as Spyro I was being pressured by Cynder to do just that.

I couldn't do it, so I got off the ape, "Go! Get out of here!" I said, the ape seemed surprised, I'm sure the thought of taking advantage of my mercy to attack crossed his mind, but his self preservation overrode that idea, as he and his ape friends all scampered away. I don't know if I made the right call or not… but it was the only one I could will myself to make.

However, Cynder seemed to know exactly if I had made the right call or not, as she looked absolutely livid. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Those were apes Spyro! Apes! Who knows how many innocents they'll kill now that you let them walk! What's wrong with you?!" She screamed. I was kind of surprised how angry she was, she looked like she was about to rip my head off!

"I couldn't do it Cynder, I… he was so afraid… I… I couldn't take a life like that… it wasn't right!" I tried to explain myself, but Cynder clearly didn't agree with my assessment, sounding with a frustrated growl.

"Of course it was afraid! Apes are spineless cowards when confronted with their own mortality! How the hell did you think Malefor got them to follow him for so long? Apes are monsters Spyro! Heartless murderers! And you just let them walk! Every death they cause from now on is going to be on **your** head!" She argued. "You didn't seem to have a problem killing the Grublins!" she added.

I was beside myself right now, normally choosing mercy was considered an admirable decision! But Cynder seemed to think otherwise for some reason. "It was different with them! They weren't really even alive! Cynder I'm not a murderer! I thought you'd be more understanding than this! What's wrong with me? How about what's wrong with **you**?! I choose to show mercy and you act like I ate a puppy!" I argued back.

Cynder snarled, louder this time, "I spent most of my childhood under those monsters! Being abused and tormented by those vermin! If you knew them as well as I did you'd know **exactly** why this upsets me as much as it does!" she snapped back. "Spyro this **terrifies** me, what's going to happen if we're in a position to kill Malefor? Are you going to show him mercy too?!" she snapped at me.

I stopped cold, I hadn't even **thought** of that before, you'd think I would have considering how much I've been focusing on Malefor lately, but… she was right, what if I did wuss out when it came time to put Malefor down? C… could I really bring myself to kill him? Even in spite of the hell that dragon put me through, would I still be able to take a life?

Cynder must have saw the fear in my eyes, as her expression softened, "Sometimes Spyro, we need to end one life to save more, you need to understand that if we're going to stop Malefor," she said. Her voice still had a bit of force behind it, but she had calmed a bit from the straight up screaming she had been doing before.

She was right, I knew she was, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few after all. But still… the very notion of killing another living creature… even if said living creature was a kill crazy psycho who, let's be real, kinda had it coming. It was the kind of delima I had never expected to be faced with. I don't know what I thought I'd do to Malefor before now, I guess I was too focused on protecting my friends to think of how exactly I was going to deal with the thing threatening them. I could be such an airhead sometimes I swear. "It's just not that easy for me though, I've spent so long being told killing was wrong, that mercy was always the right way, I know you're right, that Malefor has to die, but…" I said before Cynder suddenly shushed me.

"I never said killing was a **good** thing Spyro," she corrected me. "You'd have to be as deranged as Malefor to think otherwise, but it is a **necessary** thing sometimes, i just want you to understand that before we face Malefor," she explained. "Speaking of, we've already wasted too much time on the apes already, we should keep heading north, hopefully we can find Malefor before nightfall," she said, quickly changing the subject.

Cynder was right, fighting Malefor would be hard enough on its own, we didn't need the harsh cold to deal with on top of it. I took a good look around us, noticing the snow storm had gotten quite harsh during our fight with the apes, "I don't think flying in this weather is a good idea though, I can barely see through all this snow," I pointed out. As much as I hated the idea of walking on foot in this weather, I hated the idea of smashing into a rock I couldn't see at terminal velocity even less.

Cynder looked around, "You're right, this is not good flying weather, we may need to think about finding shelter at some point, we get caught out here too long the weather might do Malefor's job for him," she said.

You know, that would be kind of ironic, the only two dragons capable of stopping Malefor slain by bad weather, if it weren't for the world ending implications the thought would be kind of morbidly humorous. "We'd better get moving, we can't afford to waste time," Cynder said, taking point.

As Sparx and I followed, I thought back to the problem I was not faced with, Malefor wasn't going to turn and flee like the apes did, if I couldn't find it in me to kill him, who knows how much damage he could do. The very idea that I could lose everything because I was too squeamish to kill Malefor deeply disturbed me. But even though I knew there was no other way to stop Malefor than killing him, I knew myself too well to think I could actually go through with it. This was of course, assuming I actually could kill him, I hadn't forgotten what I'd been told, that Cynder and I had to rely on an assist from The Ancestors themselves to just trap the bastard, even if I did have the guts to kill him, would I even be able to? The longer this went on, the more and more this began to seem like a no win scenario.

I guess I would just have to hope the answer came to me at some point, Malefor needed to be stopped, that much was crystal clear, but the means of doing so were where the problem laid. "Spyro come on! I wanna get out of this storm before I turn into a popsicle if you don't mind!" Sparx suddenly said, ripping me out of my stupor. Apparently I wasn't moving fast enough for his highness over there.

So I tried to pick up my pace, I had a long road ahead of me, and a lot of things I needed to figure out along the way…

* * *

 **A/N: Another short chapter, but a significant one.**

 **This is another thing I wish more writers of these types of stories would address more, the moral dilemma of taking a life. I don't know about you guys, but I've noticed a lot of stories like this have the protagonist killing apes or whatever with little to no conflict or ethical turmoil, even I myself have been guilty of doing this. Unless you're an unrepentant serial killer, killing anyone for someone who's lived a normal, non murdery human life is going to be a very difficult thing to deal with, even if it's in self defense.**

 **That and it adds more conflict to Spyro's inevitable confrontation with Malefor.**

 **Oh and… don't think we've seen the last of the apes…**

 **Also, it's my first chapter of 2019! WOOT!**


	23. Harshing the Storm

**Chapter 22: Harshing The Storm**

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The snow storm had only gotten worse after Cynder and I continued our march towards Malefor, it was as if nature itself had aligned with Malefor and was trying to stop us. The cold winds were unbearable, the snowfall nearly blinding, I could barely see two feet in front of me. "H...Hey, is… is anyone else w-wishing they b-brought a sweater or something?" said Sparx, shivering like mad.

This had been the third time I've had the threat of hypothermia loom over me since returning to this world. You'd think having lived in Maine as a human, a state infamous for it's harsh winters, I'd be more capable of handling this kind of weather, but scales were **terrible** for resisting the elements, I might as well be butt naked. Okay, I **was** naked, but you get what I mean. It's moments like these I wished that dragons had fur.

"We need to get out of this storm," I heard Cynder say, "At this rate, we'll freeze to death before we ever reach Malefor," she added. I couldn't agree more, I already felt my body growing numb from the cold, it wouldn't be long before hypothermia set in. "There has to be a cave or something nearby, come on," Cynder said.

The storm made it difficult to see where Cynder was, so following her was proving to be quite difficult, all this fog and snow robbed me of most of my vision, everything around me looked like a snowy grey cloud. I felt my body tiring, I was still feeling some of that fight with the apes, which certainly didn't help matters. God, if I died like this… No! Must stay positive! I mustn't let despair take over, I'll overcome this, I have to…

I felt my body beginning to wear out, even standing was beginning to prove difficult, between the harsh could and the beating from the apes I took earlier, every inch of my body cried for rest, demanded I lay down. But in this weather, trying to rest would be staying up was difficult, my legs were wobbling, I almost gave out but something stopped me before I could fall, I looked to see Cynder propping me up with her own body, she must have noticed me lagging behind and came back for me.

I had been afraid to die before, but I never thought it'd be the **weather** of all things that would finally take me down. I doubted I could hold out much longer like this, and Cynder herself wasn't looking too good either, I could feel her shivering so much she could double and a maraca. "You know, it's moments like these that make me think whatever deity is out there hates me and wants me to die horribly," I said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Cynder was silent at first, making me wonder if my joke was in poor taste or not, however, "Only **you** would find humor in our near deaths," she said dryly. I then noticed her eyes widen suddenly, "Oh thank the ancestors!" She said, confused I looked ahead to see that we had somehow happened upon a cave of some kind. It wasn't much to be honest, but anything that would give us time to rest **and** got us out of this storm was quite welcomed.

Cynder and I entered the cave, it felt nice to be out of that horrible storm, but the freezing cold still lingered. "Well, we're still freezing to death, but at least we're not getting snowed on," commented Sparx. I then had an idea, without a word I exited the cave.

I heard Cynder ask what I was doing, but said nothing, snapping a few tree branches off a nearby tree. It wasn't much, but it would have to suffice. I re entered the cave and dumped the pile of sticks onto the ground before lighting them with my fire breath. I guess that was one benefit to being a dragon during a snowstorm, instant campfire. "It's not much, but it will at least give us a little more warmth," I said before laying myself down.

Cynder laid herself next to me, "We should stay in her until the storm passes, it'll give us time to recover from our fight with the apes and let us warm our bodies a little," she said. Who knew how long this storm was going to last, it wasn't like I could check the weather app on my phone like back in the human world. We'd just have to wait and hope this storm passed before Malefor decided to have another night on the town.

That was something I hadn't really considered since this little journey of ours began, that Malefor would take the opening to attack Warfang again, given he even knew we were coming for him. I mean, I'd like to think he didn't, but if he somehow knew about my human life, I don't think knowing Cynder and I were marching up to kick his ass was out of the question. It did make me wonder **how** he knew all this, maybe clairvoyance was one of his many overpowered purple dragon abilities? But back on point, leaving Warfang defenseless didn't sit very well with me, and I knew enough about the old Dark Master to know he wouldn't waste the opportunity.

I turned to Cynder, "Cynder, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but do you think Malefor will attack Warfang while we're gone?" I asked her. Cynder's expression told me it was something she hadn't thought of either, this worried expression that only lasted a fraction of a second before vanishing.

"I'd love to tell you no," Cynder began, "But I'd be lying, we just have to hope if that happens, The Guardians can handle it, it's too late to head back now," she explained. As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. There really was no sense in heading all the way back to town off a hunch. We had to end Malefor, hopefully we'd get to him before he decided to attack again. God was I going to be glad when I could stop worrying about stuff like this.

What I wouldn't give to just end this whole Malefor thing now, just march right up to him and pound his ugly face in. But even if I could right now, I was still a bit worried about whether or not I could actually go through with it. I thought back to that ape again, the sheer terror in his eyes as he braced for my killing stroke. It was an awful feeling, knowing another sapient being was afraid of you. I doubted Malefor would react the same way though, he didn't seem the type, but I still didn't feel comfortable with the idea of killing people, even if they were as evil as Malefor was. A life was a life after all, and every life matters.

But deep down, I knew that Cynder had a point as well, there wasn't another way with Malefor, it's not like we could lock him up in jail or something. Worse, if I hesitated and Malefor took the opening to kill both of us, there'd be no one to protect the world from him and it would be all my fault. God… I long for the days when my worries were just petty insignificant things like a test I didn't study for or weather or not I could afford that coffee at the convenience store. Having the fate of an entire world on your shoulders was not a fun feeling.

I laid there and watched the flames of the campfire dance, just pondering everything that was happening to me now. I couldn't really even put to words how stressed I really was. Faced with so many important decisions, some that were **literally** world ending. I could only hope that when push came to shove, I would make the right call. "Spyro," Cynder suddenly said, causing me to perk my head up, "Are you doing all right? You look stressed," she commented. Once again, I wasn't hiding my stress too well, it kind of bugged me how easily Cynder could read me, I either had the worst poker face ever, or she just knew me **that** well.

I sighed, "I guess, now that we're not fearing for our lives, everything that's happening is starting to sink in," I explained. "I'm just not used to having so much riding on me," I added.

Cynder chuckled a little, "I'm sorry, it's weird hearing that coming from **you** of all people, sometimes I forget you spent three years as a human," she said, "Personally, when it comes to **that** kind of stress, I just try to put it outside of my head and focus on what's ahead of me," she explained. "It's not that easy sometimes, but it's better than psyching yourself out and collapsing under the pressure," she added.

I wish I could be like that, able to set aside my fear and focus on the road ahead, but my brain didn't work that way, it liked to fixate on the thing that was stressing me out, refusing to let me change it's focus for longer than a minute. I suddenly felt Cynder's wing droop over me, the dragon equivalent of a hand on the shoulder I guess, "Like I've said a million times Spyro, we're in this together, you stress yourself out too much you know that?" she said with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry if my mind is cartoonishly self destructive sometimes Cynder," I said in feigned offense, sharing a giggle with Cynder.

"And mine isn't?" asked Cynder "You're talking to the dragoness that's spent the past six years guilting herself over her past as Malefor's general," she pointed out. Okay yeah, she kind did have me beat in the "crushing guilt over my past" department. But that was kind of beside the point, but this wasn't the kind of argument where I would point that out, hell it was hard to even call this an argument, as we were both giggling like a pair of hyenas the whole time. Making light of our own messed up, guilt ridden minds.

Really, it was just two friends being goofy at their own expense, I always appreciated how easily Cynder brought out the best in me, how good she was at pulling me out of my moping and let me just laugh again. Friends like that were rarer than you'd think, but were every bit as important. I don't know if I did the same for her though, I'd like to think I did, that I was just as capable of pulling her from the darkness as she was for me. To be honest, having Cynder around made going through all this madness worth it, without her, I probably would have collapsed under the pressure a long time ago. A good friend could do that for you, knowing you had someone in your corner really helped ease the stress of life, even if it was the world ending type I had unfortunately found myself in.

I then thought of something else, "Cynder, what are we gonna do after this is all over?" I asked her.

Cynder thought it over for a moment, "My plan is to help you regain the rest of your memories, as for what happens after that, I'm not to sure, I guess we just… live," she said. Her tone was strangely kinda somber, as if she thought once I got my memories back I'd leave her or something.

"Well, whatever happens after Malefor, I know one thing for sure," I said, without thinking I placed my paw over hers, "I'm glad I get to spend it with such a good friend like you," I said. God Jason, corny much? What am I even doing? She probably thinks I'm a weirdo now. However, strangely I noticed her… blushing, eyelashes fluttering, until we both once again realized what was happening and quickly retracted.

I was beginning to wonder if "friends" was as far as my relationship with Cynder really went. This was… what? The **fourth** time Cynder and I got a bit too "cuddly"? But yet… I couldn't help but feel… attached to her… I could always ask her, but… what if she didn't really feel that way? I'd hate for things to get… weird between us, hell I wasn't even one hundred percent sure that was really how **I** felt either. After all, I spent three years of my life as a human, the idea of having… erm… "feelings" for a dragon felt kinda... odd. I mean, I know I really **am** a dragon, but still...

Maybe I'm just overthinking things again? Seeing patterns where none exist? Yeah… yeah that's probably it, we were just friends... nothing more. Besides, I had so much more important things to focus on right now… again... world ending things Spyro, forest from the trees purple boy, forest from the trees!

"Right… this isn't totally awkward at all," Sparx suddenly commented. Causing both Cynder and I to blush. "If you two will excuse me, I'm beat, I'm going to nap over there where things are a little less… cuddly," he said. You know, Sparx was a little too good at ruining moments, like a brick wall being thrown through your window he just stopped everything in its tracks with his snide comments.

Cynder and I both looked at each other, "Y… yeah, it might be best for us to get some shut eye," I said awkwardly, "It is getting a bit dark out, and who knows when this storm will pass," I added. Cynder nodded and I put the fire out with my ice breath, didn't want to wake up to a burning cave after all. Hopefully the temperature wouldn't drop too badly during our snooze. I'd hate to wake up with hypothermia after all.

We both found our spots and nestled in for a good night's rest. Hopefully in the morning the weather would be better and the mood a bit less… uncomfortable. It had been quite a long day to say the least, we fought a bunch of apes, survived a multiple hour long trek through a snowstorm, I think a good night sleep was more than earned tonight.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be the day we finally end Malefor's sick game, and the rest of my life could finally begin…

* * *

 **A/N: I am so sorry this chapter took two weeks to come out, writer's block decided to pay me a little visit again. Thankfully, we're nearing the end of the story so hopefully it won't affect the story too badly in the future.**


	24. The Truth Will Set You Free

**Chapter 23: The Truth Will Set You Free**

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My eyes fluttered open as they greeted another day, with a stretch and a yawn I picked myself off the cold cave floor, the air was slightly warmer than last night, but it was still clearly winter so it wasn't **that** warm. I looked around the cave to see that both Cynder and Sparx were still asleep, I debated waking them up, but ultimately decided against it, letting them get a few extra minutes of well earned rest before we would eventually continue our hunt for Malefor.

I gingerly trotted out of the cave, the sun shined brightly as I stood in the snow, a gentle wind caressing against my scales, my head fins bobbing slightly in the breeze. I guess I should be grateful for good weather today, it meant Cynder and I could actually fly to our destination instead of trudging through a blizzard like yesterday.

I just sat there, staring at the bright, blue sky, the few fluffy white clouds gently carried by the earlier mentioned breeze. It really struck me how similar the sky was to the one back in the human world, despite how different this world was to the one I had spent three years in, it was comforting to see even small similarities like this, a tiny slice of familiarity. I wonder what my friends in the human world are doing right now? I mean, Ignitus had said that my time in that world had basically been deleted like someone's browser history, but… I hoped wherever mom, Shaun, and Zack were, they were doing okay.

Despite all the time I've spent in this world, there was still that chunk of me that missed the life I had there, but I understood that I was needed here, far more than I was in the human realms, where I was basically a nobody. Part of me still felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities I had thrust upon me here. But who else was going to stop Malefor? The Ancestors spared my soul for a reason right? But still… I can't help but wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't decided to visit Ignitus in the forest that day… if I had stayed a human…

My introspection was interrupted suddenly by a strange buzzing in the back of my head, at first I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but after a while, I began to feel… drawn to a certain direction. Mindlessly I began to march forwards, like a zombie I shambled forwards, what was happening?! Oh god, am I losing control again? I looked myself over, my scales weren't darkening, so I wasn't my evil self, thank god. What the hell was happening?! "Cynder! I'm walking and I can't stop! HELP!" I called out.

There's no way she heard me, I was too far from the cave at this point! Oh god, Malefor wasn't doing this was he?! The very idea that Malefor could manipulate my physical actions like this terrified me. But, if it were Malefor, wouldn't he have done this before now? Wouldn't he just make me walk off a cliff back before I even knew who he was? Besides, this didn't really feel like a possession, or what I assumed a possession would feel like, it felt more like I was just, compelled to go in this direction, like some base instinct deep in my lizard brain demanded I go in this direction, like how birds always just fly south for the winter.

I heard the soft crunching of snow begin to draw closer, I turned my head, still impulsively walking forward, seeing Cynder bounding towards me, Sparx flying after her. Oh my god, she **actually** heard me! I didn't know whether to be thankful or astonished. I tried to stop myself so she could catch up, but I only managed to slow my walk. "Spyro where are you going?! We're supposed to be going together remember?!" Cynder asked me.

Her wording suggested she actually hadn't heard me, and possibly thought I was trying to make a break for it and face Malefor by myself. Honestly, I couldn't exactly blame her for coming to that conclusion, it certainly sounds like something I would have done. "I… I don't know… I just… can't… stop!" I tried to explain. "It's like I'm being… drawn to something!" I said. God I sound like a goddamn lunatic! I might as well be telling her the voices in my head were telling me to cleanse the world in fire!

However, instead, "Maybe it's a sign? Like someone wants you to find something?" she suggested, implying this sort of thing was common place in this world. God, when did my life become so weird? "Just fly in the direction it wants you to go, I'll follow," she instructed me.

I spread my wings, ready to do as she instructed, "You know, back in the human realms, when weird things like this happen, we usually call an exorcist," I said half jokingly before taking off. Cynder following close behind me.

"Well in **our** world, it usually means something, especially when it happens to **you** ," pointed out Cynder. Oh wonderful, this wasn't actually a commonplace thing, it just was for me specifically.

The strange compulsion continued to lead me forward, soon the sprawling forest gave way to a vast ocean, making me wonder what exactly this strange force was actually leading me towards. After a bit of flying, a land mass came into view, there was a strange familiarity to it though, like I had been here before.

I suddenly came in for a landing, confirming whatever it was that was drawing me forward wanted me to visit this island for reasons still unknown. I heard Cynder land behind me, "What is this place?" she asked, confirming that not even she knew where this was.

Sparx however, "I know this place from somewhere… but I can't seem to place a finger on it…" he commented. After a bit of thinking he suddenly realized something, "The White Isle!" he said. Cynder and I both raised an eyebrow, the name rang a bell, but I of course, couldn't remember where I'd heard it before. "You know, the White Isle? That place where the previous Chronicler brought us during the whole Eternal Night thing?" He said, as if he seriously thought dropping hints would be enough to get me to remember.

But yet, if this was where The Chronicler was… that lead me to believe Ignitus was the one drawing me here, but why? I kinda had more important things on my plate than visiting friends right now! Wait… no way… he wouldn't?

I turned to Cynder, who seemed to come to the same grim realization that I had. "You don't think Malefor would go after Ignitus do you?" I asked her. How did I never even consider this?! I mean, I guess I thought since Ignitus was this strange, mystical being that Malefor wouldn't be able to find him. I felt the sensation come over me again, compelling me further into the island. I changed the trance like walk into a full on sprint, if I was right, and I hope to god I wasn't, I couldn't afford to waste even a second!

Soon enough I found myself sprinting towards some kind of dwelling, it only took a moment after I dashed through the doorway for me to recognize the dwelling as The Chronicler's library, the place where I regained my original form, where my whole Dragon Realms adventure began. I could hear faint sounds coming from the main room, it didn't take long for me to recognize them as sound of a struggle.

The sounds of pained grunts, dragon elements being fired, books flying and plopping on the wooden floorboards, flesh hitting flesh, there was definitely a fight going on in there. Without even thinking I darted into the room to find a ghastly sight.

There in the center of the room, standing over a bloody and beaten Ignitus was the Dark Master himself, Malefor. To say Malefor seemed quite pleased with himself would be an understatement, he didn't even seem to notice me enter the room, too wrapped in how cartoonishly evil he was I assume. "Honestly Ignitus, did you really think you could fight me off? Battle isn't exactly expected of a keeper of time." said Malefor, just as smug as ever. "I do wonder what will happen to the time stream once I kill you?" He said.

Ignitus said nothing, but I knew he noticed I was there, as he cocked his head to the side, telling me to hide myself, I wanted to just step in and stop Malefor, but I had to trust Ignitus' judgement here, so I hid myself behind a stack of books. Once Ignitus saw I was out of sight, he returned his stare to Malefor, "What do you hope to accomplish here Malefor? Even if you manage to kill me, another will take my place, and it certainly won't help you against Spyro and Cynder!" He said.

Malefor laughed, "Aside from taking another one of Spyro's friends from him? I "hope" to gain access to your portals, don't think me a simple fool Chronicler, I know Spyro had friends in the Human Realms, friends that need killing," he said. I felt a cold chill run up my spine, could he really gain access to other realms?

Ignitus spat a bit of blood from his mouth before responding, "Forget it Malefor! You cannot access the other realms without my aid! And if you think for even a moment I will allow the likes of **you** to travel anywhere you're madder than I thought!" he said. "I would never allow you to harm Spyro or his friends if I can help it!" he added.

Malefor grinned, "Really?" he said before smacking The Chronicler right across the face, "Ever since you brought Spyro back to this world I've wondered why The Ancestors would interceed in his passing when they believed they had me trapped forever? Surely if they believed I wasn't a threat anymore, they would have allowed Spyro to pass on?" He said. "That's when I realized it… it wasn't them who wanted to save Spyro… was it Chronicler?" he added. Where the hell was he going with this? Of course the Ancestors would jump in, you never take a chance on a guy like Malefor… right? "It was you wasn't it Ignitus? You were the one who placed Spyro into Jason's body… you just couldn't bear to watch him die could you? The son you never had… gone… dust in the wind…" he said.

I just sat there and watched… not sure what to think, Malefor had to just be playing head games, right? Ignitus wouldn't do that to me, The Ancestors forced his hand! However my thoughts were tabled when suddenly, out of nowhere, Malefor's yellow eyes suddenly moved to my direction, "I know you're there Spyro… I can feel your presence even from here, come… and hear the truth from your beloved fire teacher," He said. Dammit he can _sense_ me?! Well, no use in hiding now, so I stepped out from my hiding spot, Cynder suddenly rising from the floor, apparently having used her shadow breath to hide herself.

Malefor then turned to Ignitus, "Honestly, did you really think I wouldn't notice them? You really are a fool Ignitus," he said. "Now I believe I posed a question earlier, was what I said true? Did you really circumvent the Ancestors to spare Spyro's life?" he said. Ignitus strangely didn't answer, just looking off to the side, avoiding eye contact with me for some reason.

"The Ancestors told him to do it Malefor! Because they knew you'd come back!" I said, deciding to speak on Ignitus' behalf.

However, out of nowhere, "No Spyro," Ignitus said… "Mad as he is, Malefor… speaks the truth…" He said shakily, as if forcing it out, "The Ancestors involvement was a lie, I alone was responsible for your placement in Jason Allen's body," he said.

I was beside myself, he lied to me? "You know, I think I might leave you three alone for a bit, I'm sure you have plenty to catch up on, if you need me, I'll be right outside," Malefor scoffed before trudging out of the door, but before he left, he lowered his head towards mine, "You see what happens when you blindly trust others boy? Even Ignitus wound up betraying you in the end… let that sink in for a moment," he said before leaving.

I was beside myself, all this time… all this time I was lead to believe my resurrection was something The Ancestors planned out, that everything I had been forced to endure since getting here was due to some grand plan to protect the world from Malefor. But now? Now it seemed that the only "grand plan" here was Ignitus' refusal to let me pass on. "Spyro… please! Try to understand!" Ignitus begged but I wasn't having it.

I slammed my paw onto the floor with all my might, cracking the floorboards, "YOU LIED TO ME!" I screamed. "All this time?! All this time you had me thinking I was brought here by some grand design! That every heartache and lost friend was for the "greater good" when in reality, it was **you** all along!" I yelled. I wanted to tear Ignitus' head clean off his shoulders right now, every sacrifice I made coming back here was basically rendered into a punchline, all just a desperate old man's last ditch efforts to save his friend, damn the emotional turmoil he put that friend through!

"They were just going to let you die Spyro!" Ignitus yelled back, "You used so much energy, your very essence was so damaged you wouldn't have even been able to join the Ancestors in the afterlife! They didn't even care! They said you served your purpose! I begged with them to save you but they wouldn't listen! So… I took matters into my own hands… I took what little of your essence was left and placed it into Jason Allen's body while I worked my magic to repair your old one… it was selfish, a flagrant abuse of my power as Chronicler… but I did it for you! You of all dragons deserved to see the peace you fought so hard to create! It wasn't fair that you had to die while that bastard Malefor got to continue living,even trapped as he was," he argued.

I just shook my head, "What about Cynder?! The Guardians? Sparx? Jason's mother? Shaun or Zack?! Was it fair to them?! Toying with their emotions! All the guilt I felt, every lost friend, every broken heart! Did you even care?! Or were you just too wrapped up in your own grief to consider their own?" I said.

Something about that statement made something in Ignitus just, snap, his eyes flared with anger, "OF COURSE I CARED!" He screamed, so loudly the room practically shook, "You think I _enjoyed_ doing this to you?! To **them**?! I would have loved nothing more than to spare you and everyone else the pain you've all gone through! Every time you faced adversity, every time you've nearly broken down in despair was like a knife to the heart! You **dare** accuse me of not caring?! What I did to you was wrong, I know that now, but don't you dare even think for a second that I don't care about you or those in your life," he said as tears began to flood from his eyes.

Ignitus then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before continuing, "I'm sorry Spyro.. I'm sorry I put you through all of this for such selfish reasons, but try to understand, I failed you and Cynder once already, I never got to do right by you, to just sit back and watch you wither away as she mourned and cried… I couldn't bear the very thought… I just wanted you to have a chance to live your life… that's all," he said.

Something about the way he said that, I don't know if it was his body language, the guilty tone his voice took, the sad, remorseful expression in his eyes, something about it just made my anger lessen. By all accounts, I had every right to hate him for what he did, these past few weeks have been hell for me, seeing how my death had affected everyone I used to know, it was horrible. But yet, no one seemed to know that more than Ignitus, he knew what he did all too well, and it clearly killed him inside.

I've gone through so much these past few days, taken to my physical **and** emotional brink, no one would blame me for hating Ignitus just for that alone. But again,I couldn't do it, maybe this was the best thing for me? To have that second chance to do it right? To be there for my friends? To live the life I almost lost? By no means did this make the pain they went through okay, but… if I were in his position, if I had the power to do what he did… would I really have chosen differently? You can't blame someone for wanting to save a friend… it was only natural… dare I say… it was even… human.

I spent so long obsessing over the life I lost, I never really got to appreciate the life I regained. All the friends I've regained, friends I wouldn't trade for anything. As Jason, I was nobody, another face in the crowd doomed to a life of meaninglessness. But here? I was Spyro, the legendary purple dragon, the hero, someone worth so much that someone bent the universe over their knees just to save me. Here I was loved, I'll always miss my old life, but my place was here… not just because it needed me to defend it, my place was here because of the people in it, people I was more than happy to spend the rest of my days with.

It was hard for me to let go of all that pain, but I knew deep down it was the right thing to do. Life is full of what ifs, what could have beens, if there's anything I've learned over the course of this adventure, is that all we can do is keep marching on. So, with that in mind, I approached my former mentor, and made one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, "I forgive you," I said softly.

Ignitus was stunned, he clearly expected me to hold onto that hate, to be bitter, hateful. "I… I don't understand… all I put you through, all the hurt you felt… why forgive me?" He asked.

I sighed, "I know… but… in the end… you only did it because you wanted to give me a chance to live the life I fought for… and maybe… maybe I didn't really get that until now… so wrapped up in what I had lost, I never stopped to consider what I'd gained… I'll always miss mom, Shaun, Zack, and every other friend I made in that world… but, I've grown so close to everyone here," I said before turning to Cynder, "I mean, I've never had a friend quite like Cynder, someone who just… gets me… who brings out the best in me like she does…" I said, Cynder began to blush, I turned back to Ignitus, "How can I be mad that you gave that back to me? Along with every other great friend I had here? Sure… my experience was… less than ideal… but if it means I get to get to know these great people even more… I'd say it was worth it in the end," I said.

Ignitus slowly rose to his feet, "Thank you Spyro… it means so much to hear you say that… to see you finally accept who and what you are," he said as a smile crept up his snout, "You've grown so much since we first met in that cave all those years ago, a dragon wise beyond his years, looking past all of that pain just to forgive me… that must have been so hard for you," he said.

I nodded, "It was… but… It was worth it, just… don't do it again… okay?" I said, partly joking. Ignitus was right, I had grown a lot over the course of this adventure, when I first got to this world, I wanted nothing more than to go home, to go back to being Jason Allen and forget all of this mess, but now… now I finally felt like I belonged here, like I was in the place I should have been all along.

Ignitus laughed a little, his injuries causing him to cough a little, "Deal," he said.

However, our brief moment of levity was suddenly interrupted by a fireball that completely caught me by surprise. I guess Malefor was done waiting, I had almost completely forgotten he had only just stepped out of the room. "How very touching," Malefor snarled, as if the very idea of me accepting who I was disgusted him. "You are such a naive little fool! You forget how easily those "dear friends" of yours can be taken away!" He said before raining fire blasts on me as Ignitus' various books toppled off the shelf and onto my dumb face.

Oh hello again horrible screaming agony, it's been a while, how've you been? "You could be so much more than this Spyro!" Malefor yelled, "You could have been a GOD! But instead, you choose to be weak!" he growled. I began to toss books off of me, chucking one right at Malefor's head, catching him off guard apparently as it beamed him right at the crown of the skull.

I launched myself out of the pile, "I "chose" to be a decent dragon! You should try it some time!" I said before firing a fire ball right at Malefor, however he was ready this time, as he simply shot it down with an earth shot, the rock smothering the fireball and careening into my side, knocking the wind out of me and sending me tumbling across the floor.

However, before Malefor could capitalize, Cynder latched herself on top of his head, clawing at his eyes. Man, I never noticed it before, but Cynder kinda fights dirty, I guess being brought up by apes to be an evil dragon's henchwoman would do that to you. Malefor however, just whipped his head around, tossing Cynder off and sending her into a bookcase, it's contents spilling onto her. "No more games, I've let you live far longer than I should have Spyro, today you die! And this time, Ignitus isn't going to bring you back! I'll insure it," he said before grabbing me by the neck and slamming me into the ground. My teeth rattled from the impact, a shockwave of pure agony rippling throughout my skull. "When I'm done with you Spyro, fading away into nothingness will seem like a blessing!" He growled.

I tried to fight back, but Malefor had the size advantage and was making real good use of it, tossing me around like a ragdoll, it was kind of sad that the only shot I've landed on him so far was a book to the head. Cynder and even Ignitus were trying their best to help me out, but Malefor just kept knocking them away, making it clear it was me and **only** me he wanted. "You know Spyro, I think I've finally realized why it is that I despise you so much," he said as he clutched my throat in his claws. "It's not that you trapped me, it's not that you turned my greatest general against me, it isn't even that you stood in opposition to me," he continued as he began to squeeze, "It's how hopelessly naive you are, how unwilling you are to accept the truth of your own existence, happily playing hero instead of accepting your true destiny! Such power, wasted on a hapless fool who lacks the courage to even tap into a fraction of that power!" He said before slamming the back of my head against the floor.

I struggled to get free of his grip, but his claws remained wrapped around my neck like a vice, refusing to even budge an inch. He wanted me dead, and badly! I couldn't even use my breath elements, his grip was so tight. I began to flail my limbs around, hoping to either scratch him or wiggle myself free, whichever came first I welcomed it! However out of nowhere, Cynder flew into Malefor's side like a jet black missile, the impact forcing Malefor to lose his grip. I quickly scampered out of range before Malefor could grab at my throat again.

This fight was a lot more clumsy than I had envisioned in my head, Malefor wasn't being fancy here, he just wanted to straight up kill me, whatever it took. I blew my electric breath at him, sending god knows how many volts through his body. It was clearly hurting him though as I cried out, which kinda surprised me, I expected Malefor to be made of sterner stuff than this, after all, this was the guy I had to kill myself just to stop. However Malefor quickly countered with an electric breath of his own.

I screamed as electricity surged through my body, I couldn't think straight, all that ran through my mind was pain, unrelenting, excruciating pain. The attack only stopped when Ignitus managed to shoulder check Malefor into a wall. My mouth tasted like smoke, my vision blurred into a blue haze. This fight wasn't going well, my body already felt like it was about to give out, my legs were shaky, my mind a jumbled haze of barely coherent thoughts.

Cynder and Ignitus were both keeping on Malefor, Ignitus clearly still had access to his fire breath as he used it to keep Malefor pinned to a corner of the room. Cynder peppering him with poison shots. However, it wasn't long before Malefor knocked them both back with a strong beat of his wings. Without a word he suddenly darted out of the room. Was he retreating? You'd think the Dark Master would have a little more courage than that! "Where's he going?" I asked, trying my best to hide how much my body hurt right now.

"He realized he's outnumbered in this library, even a dragon as overconfident as Malefor can see when a battle is not going in his favor," said Ignitus.

Cynder rushed towards the doorway Malefor escaped through, "We can't let him get away! Come on Spyro!" She said before leaving, not even waiting for me to follow.

I turned to Ignitus, "Go Spyro," said Ignitus, "I'm in not condition to follow, but you must follow Cynder, you mustn't let Malefor escape, you must end him now before he has time to recover," He urged me.

Looking Ignitus over, he was right, he was a mess, his robes were slightly tattered, he was bleeding all over, and he had a noticeable limp. So with a deep breath, I darted out of the library, "Good luck Spyro! May the Ancestors look after you, may they look after us all," Ignitus said as I left for my final confrontation with Malefor.

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 **A/N: It's coming ladies and gents, the final battle! I've been looking forward to doing this battle for a while, and I'm hoping to deliver one that's worthy of this rewrite.**

 **I wanted to post this chapter yesterday, but most of that day was taken up by me being hyped for The Patriots in the AFC Championship (yes I'm a fan of the sportsball, what are YOU going to do about it?) and after the game was over I was so drained by the whole thing I was in no condition to write and decided to just spend the rest of the night huddled in bed and watching YouTube.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	25. A Date With Destiny

**Author's Notes:**

 **Before we begin today's chapter, I kind of want to answer a question from one "LoNeWoLf", this to be fair, is a question I should have addressed a while ago. That being "what happened to the actual Jason Allen?" I guess I figured my audience would have been able to figure it out on their own so didn't really feel the need to address it.**

 **Basically, TL;DR version, Jason's in the afterlife, has been since he died in the car crash. Ignitus didn't lie when he said his death wasn't intended but just sort of happened. Sure it is still morally questionable to take a dead body and place someone else' soul inside it, but when you're in desperation like Ignitus was you sometimes don't think about those things and just want to "fix the problem at hand".**

 **I hated that I had to answer LoNeWoLf's question in the story itself, but because Fanfiction's comment system was seemingly designed by escaped mental patients, I couldn't respond to him directly because he commented without an account and this was my** _ **only**_ **means of addressing the question.**

 **Now that** _ **that's**_ **out of the way, let us get to the chapter now...**

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 **Chapter 24: A Date with Destiny**

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Cynder and I raced out of The Chronicler's library in hot pursuit of Malefor, hopefully he hadn't gotten far, how much would it suck if we went through all that traveling just to lose him? Cynder and I flew over the ocean, keeping our eyes open for any sign of the Dark Master but only saw the waters below.

We soon reached shore but still saw no sign of Malefor, "Dammit!" Cynder cursed, "Where is he?" she asked as she frantically scanned her eyes around the area. It was beginning to look like we were going to have to begin our hunt for Malefor all over again, you wouldn't think a dragon as big as Malefor would be able to fly that fast, but apparently he was fast enough to lose us.

Or so I thought up until I was blindsided by what I think was a fireball, the sheer force of the fireball sent me flying right into the side of a mountain. My head was spinning from the sheer impact alone. Once my vision cleared I saw the face of the dragon we'd been hunting for… the evil bastard who started this all, Malefor.

Malefor's expression was that of sheer amusement, a wicked grin creeping up his snout, "You really thought I was running away boy?" he asked me. "I was merely relocating our… final encounter," he said before he began to rain blows on me, punch after punch, each over embedding me deeper into the rocky mountainside, "I bet you're really wishing you'd taken me up on that offer to return to your human life right now, aren't you… "Jason"?" cackled Malefor as he continued to pound me into the mountain.

However he was suddenly blindsided by Cynder, who nailed Malefor with what could only be described as a banshee scream. The momentary opening allowed me to fly out of the hole, but I wasn't going to wait to attack, as I shot my electric breath at Malefor, who was too disoriented by Cynder's scream to react in time as it hit him flush, he grunted as the electricity surged through his body.

However, he quickly recovered, using his wings to propel himself right at me like a torpedo, smacking me right out of the sky with the force of a wrecking ball. The blow itself was enough to disorient me, making staying airborne far more difficult. Well Malefor certainly lived up to his reputation, dude hits like a freight train! I didn't know how much more of this I could withstand before my body gives out. But I had to keep fighting, I couldn't afford to lose here, who knows what will happen if Malefor manages to kill me!

Shaking off the blow, I flew myself right back into the fight, raining razor sharp ice shards onto Malefor, who was too distracted with fighting Cynder to notice them, he howled in pain as the shards stabbed into his back. However, Malefor took the shot in stride, firing his own ice shards right at me.

I barely had enough time to get out of the way before they impaled me, however, some of them managed to get me in the leg. The pain was horrible, forcing me to cry out and fall out of the air. I hit the snow covered mountain side with a less than painful thwump. The white snow quickly stained red from my bleeding leg. I took a moment to look to see what the damage was, the icicle that poked out of my right hind leg was massive, about the size of a broadsword, I was very lucky it hadn't managed to hit the bone or my leg would have been broken for sure! I began to pull at the icicle, I couldn't fight with this thing in my leg.

The pain was almost unbearable, I had to resist the urge to scream as the icicle slowly lifted from my leg, I knew if I screamed Malefor would notice I was trying to tend to an injury and take , after what felt like an eternity, the icicle was removed from my leg, blood pouring like a crimson fountain, I needed to stop the bleeding somehow before I end up passing out!

Not exactly having bandages handy, I tried cauterizing the wound with my fire breath, which was just about as pleasant as it sounded. After several agonising seconds, the wound was sufficiently closed, and just in time to as Cynder suddenly crashed to the ground right next to me. Malefor landing himself in front of us, "You two have been a thorn in my side for far too long! Today our little game ends! Today… you two cease to be a problem," he said before he suddenly hit us both with this strange… purple energy… it felt like getting whacked by searing hot metal, a mix of painful heat and strong kinetic energy that sent both of us tumbling across the mountain side, backing us right up against the side of a _very_ steep cliff.

I don't know what it was Malefor hit us with, but it seemed to take most of the fight out of both Cynder and myself, I could barely will myself to stand, my legs wobbling before giving out, sending me right back onto my belly. Malefor laughed as he approached us, "Did you two really think you would win? Last time you had to **die** to stop me Spyro!" Malefor said, "And make no mistake Spyro, you are going to die here… but this time… I'm making damn sure you **stay** dead!" He said before smacking me across the face, forcing me closer to the cliff. "You can't win Spyro! Just give up! Embrace oblivion!" he screamed at me.

I began to wonder if I should just give up, I can't beat him, he's too strong, I was supposed to be dead anyway… I was only alive right now because Ignitus couldn't stand the thought of letting me die. Maybe I should just embrace the inevitable? My body was giving out, there was no way I was going to survive…

Almost as if on cue, I felt a headache come on again, throbbing pain returning to my head like an obnoxious old friend. It was fittingly enough of the previous "final" encounter with Malefor, the one that started this whole mess in the first place. Malefor's defeat and imprisonment at the hands of The Ancestors… the world a broken mess… me forced to end my own life in order to fix the damage, all stuff I already knew… however… just before the flash ended with my previous life… Cynder said something… three words that suddenly changed everything…

" _I love you,_ "

My eyes shot open as the vision ended, she… she loved me? I slowly craned my head in Cynder's direction, who was out cold right now. Suddenly her actions gained a whole new perspective, her initial reaction to seeing me again, her dedication to helping me regain my life here. No wonder she was so angry with me when we first met in the graveyard what almost felt like a lifetime ago. She wasn't a hurt friend lashing out against someone who abandoned her, she was a lover, deprived of the target of her affections, unleashing years of denied love upon an amnesiac dragon appearing from seemingly nowhere. She loved me… she _loved_ me…

And… as insane as it sounded… I loved her too… I had been denying it for far longer than I realized, but now that it was out in the open, I couldn't imagine life without her. It was then I realized I can't just give up and die now, not just for her, but for everyone I've ever cared about, both as Jason and as Spyro, I owed it to all of them to see this through, or all of that heartache would have been for nothing, the deaths, the stolen lives, the tortured hearts, the tender embraces and shed tears, all reduced to a punchline if I gave up now.

I heard Malefor's steps draw closer, he was getting ready to end me once and for all, I had to keep fighting… not just for me, not just for Cynder, the Guardians, Karius, Hunter, or even Sparx, but for Jason, his family, his friends, everyone was counting on me to stop this monster, to give not only my death, but Jason's as well some form of meaning, I owed him that much.

I slowly rose to my feet, keeping a determined look plastered on my face, Malefor quickly smacked me back down, "Don't fight me Spyro! You can't win! Just die!" he said, but I just picked myself back up, I wasn't going to lose here! I couldn't! I was going to stop Malefor even if it killed me!

I threw a punch at Malefor, putting everything I had into it, scoring a brutal shot right to his jaw, even managing to knock a tooth right out of his skull. Malefor crashed to the ground, a look of both pain and surprise on his face. "NEVER! I won't let you win Malefor! After all of the people you've hurt! All of the torment you put my friends through! It ends today! Even if I have to destroy myself again I **will** stop you!" I said.

Malefor just laughed as he got up, "Nice little speech Spyro, very touching," he said as he brushed the snow off his shoulders, "However we both know this can only end one way, you cannot fight destiny Spyro, and destiny is very much on _my_ side," he said before launching himself at me. We both began to trade blows, even using blocks and counters, like this was the dragon equivalent of a kung fu movie.

However, as our brawl continued, I began to notice Malefor growing more and more frustrated. It took me a moment to realize why, Malefor was so full of himself, so overconfident, he was convinced I couldn't beat him. The fact it was taking this long for him to kill me was starting to annoy him. It was as if I was insulting him simply by hanging in there as long as I was. I then realized… I could use this against him!

I smirked, "What's wrong "Dark Master"?" I asked, doing sarcastic finger quotes when speaking his title, "Am I harder to kill than you thought?" I asked him, putting on the best cocky grin I could muster.

That did it! He was good and pissed now, as he began to throw wild strikes at me, easily dodged and blocked. "YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME!" Malefor screamed, "You dare insult me by even **implying** that I can't kill you?! I am the Dark Master! I am death **incarnate**!" he yelled as he missed another punch.

It was working! I guess Malefor's ego was his greatest weakness, who'd a thunk it? Gotta keep pouring it on, as long as I keep him good and angry I can keep him fighting sloppy. "Really? Well, for someone who claims to be "death incarnate", you sure do suck at killing people, I mean, you said you were gonna kill all of my friends and all you managed to do was ding them up a little," I said. Granted, saying that was kinda hard for me, considering I was grateful none of my friends had died, but I couldn't resist pointing it out.

It gave me enough of an opening to score a few fireballs right to his stupid face! Forcing him back, that clearly hurt him, although he was doing his best to hide it, I could see his left eye twitching from the pain, his legs beginning to wobble, oh my god! I'm winning! "What's wrong Malefor? Losing already? I thought you'd be made of sterner stuff than that!" I mocked him.

Malefor snarled in anger, "You must really be eager to die Spyro! Here, allow me to **assist** with that!" he growled before he suddenly, out of nowhere, tackled me off of the cliffside, I then noticed he was making a point to keep his front legs wrapped around my wings, tightly pressing them against my back. I then realized why, he was making sure I couldn't fly, that I couldn't save myself, he was going to kill us both! A predatory suicide! "If I must die Spyro, I'm making sure I take you **with me** you little brat!" He snarled.

I think my plan may have worked a little **too** well! The crazy bastard was actually willing to kill us **both** just to prove he was better than me! I struggled to get my wings free, but Malefor thwarted every attempt by just tightening his vice like grip! The ground below was getting closer and closer, the snow hiding what kind of surface was below, although I was willing to bet whatever it was, it would kill us the second we hit it, especially since Malefor had positioned us so that we'd hit it head first.

I had to think of something, and fast! Otherwise we were **both** dead! I did the only thing that came to mind, and blew my fire breath in his face. It took a minute, but eventually I managed to force him to release me! I didn't have enough time to catch myself though, so I tried to maneuver myself into what I was praying was a snowbank and not a pile of skull cracking rocks.

Luck was on my side thankfully, as I gently plopped into the snowbank, although the landing still hurt like hell, the soft snow at least broke my fall enough so that the drop didn't kill me. Malefor's landing however was not nearly as gentle as he hit the mountain side like a ton of bricks, smacking into the rocky mountain with a painful crack.

Part of me was really hoping that fall would be enough to kill him, but that hope died pretty quickly when one of his yellow eyes shot open! I knew I wasn't so lucky that this fight would end that quickly, "You.. certainly are a stubborn one, aren't you Spyro?" he asked me. That fall had clearly hurt him, as I noticed after he got up he was tucking his leg inward, "But all you've done, was give yourself a few more fleeting moments of life, before I snuff it out com-" he tried to say before the ground below us suddenly began to crack.

It seems Malefor's little spill had managed to do some damage to the rock we were standing on, as it soon gave way, sending us both falling down into some kind of cave. The impact knocked the wind right out of me, pain shooting down my spine right up to the tip of my tail. I didn't want to get up, I just wanted to lay here, but I turned my head to see Malefor rising to his feet, a murderous gleam in his eyes as he was set to end my life right here and now.

I rolled myself back onto my feet just in time to block a tail swipe from Malefor aimed right from my head. My body was spent, I could tell but just how much every motion I made brought with it a wave of pain. I was beginning to worry that fall had just won the fight for Malefor, as he scored a devastating right hook to my face, sending me crashing to the ground with a painful thud.

Malefor stood over me, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with hatred, "You don't know how long I've waited, how much I've desired to see you like this… broken… beaten before me," Malefor growled, "Three years! Three years I spent in that damn crystal! Three years I wasted away in that hell, all because of YOU!" he growled as he stomped on my ribs, I heard a rather worrying crack as his paw made impact, "And for what?! So you could continue to deny your true destiny?! So you could flounder about, rejecting your true self! We could have been something grand Spyro… a force unlike any in the realms!" He said. "But no… you and your foolish morals wouldn't have it! Instead of living like a god, you choose to die a fool!" he growled.

Just as I was beginning to worry this was the end, I began to feel something building inside of me, it was a similar sensation to when I relearned my elements, but the energy felt both familiar, and alien all at the same time, a singular word came to my mind as it began to rage through my body and up to my throat.

Aether…

The element exploded out of my mouth, the same purple energy Malefor had taken Cynder and I out with earlier now crashed right into Malefor's face, sending the mad dragon right into the roof of the cave before he fell limply to the floor. Malefor forced himself back to his feet but I didn't give him the chance to even get his bearings before I rained more blows of what I was assuming was called "Aether" onto Malefor. Blow after blow, I kept hitting him, again and again, suddenly every bit of pain I had felt during my little adventure, every ounce of anger just unleashed upon the Dark Master in the form of Aether blasts.

I just kept raining them down on him until my body just couldn't handle it anymore and I fell limply to the ground. I just laid there, panting, tired, I just wanted to pass out right then and there, but I noticed Malefor's head begin to move, his body was horribly beaten, he was bleeding from his nostrils and mouth, clearly in no condition to fight. "So… what now Spyro?... you gonna kill me?...W...we both know you haven't the stomach…" he said.

I picked myself up off the floor, slowly limping towards the Dark Master, unfortunately he was right… I couldn't bring myself to kill him, even after all he'd done, even after all the horrors he put me through, I couldn't will myself to finish him off. Malefor picked up on this almost instantly, laughing weakly, "I knew it… you're too weak… you've always… been too weak… that… is why you will never win Spyro… you don't have the guts to do what needs to be done…" he coughed.

However, suddenly the cave began to rumble, either our fight must have loosened the roof of the cave, or the rest of it had suddenly decided to follow after our initial crash onto it. "In the end you've accomplished nothing… you can't kill me… and now… you will be buried here… with me," he said with a weak laugh.

I weighed my options, I was too weak to fly, my only option was to find an exit, I took a long look at Malefor, he was so beaten I doubt he could walk, he just looked at me with this satisfied smirk, knowing I didn't have it in me to take his life, the decision was easy. "You're right, I don't have it in me to kill you," I said before walking away, "But I don't have to save you either," I added before leaving. Malefor was clearly not expecting that, as he screamed my name over and over as I searched for an exit.

However I eventually managed to find one, I rushed over to it, victory only a few steps away! All I had to do was reach it! However fate had one last cruel, sick joke to play on me, as just before I managed to escape the crumbling cave, a pile of rocks collapsed right on top of me.

Everything was dark, but I knew I wasn't unconscious, I could still feel the rocks pressing up against my scales, I tried to move, but between the severe beating I'd taken and the sheer weight of the rocks, it was too much. I was trapped, panic began to set in, I can't die here! Not like this!

I began to struggle, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" I screamed, come on! Someone had to be out there! Cynder! She'd find me! Right? God, who am I kidding? She doesn't know where I am, no one does, face it Spyro, this is how you die… at least you managed to stop Malefor right? But I wasn't ready to die yet… there's still so much I haven't done, I still had memories I needed to recover… and… I never got the chance to tell Cynder how I really felt… her confession kept playing over and over in my head… almost as if to mock me… over and over again it played…

" _I love you,"_

" _I love you,"_

" _I love you,"_

I felt my eyes begin to flood with tears, "I love you too Cynder," I said softly, knowing I'd never see her again. I'd give anything just to have one last moment with her, to let her know I felt the same way she did… but I wouldn't get that chance now… all because stupid me had to waste time with Malefor.

However, suddenly I saw a small light, the light grew bigger, at first I thought it was the gates of heaven come to take me at last, the light was so bright, it almost hurt my eyes to look at it. But soon the light turned into a vision of outside of the cave, and an unexpected sight met my eyes… the apes.

At first I was frightened, afraid they'd come to finish me off, but instead the lead ape ordered his met to dig me out. The two apes pulled me from the rocks, dragging me out of the cave, I was so exhausted I couldn't even will myself to stand, let alone prepare myself for the inevitable attack from the apes.

But the attack never came, they just stood there… "Wh… why?" I managed to ask, where they… helping me? I admit, I didn't remember much about the apes, but I knew enough to know they hated me… this made no sense.

The head ape approached me, "I'm just repaying a debt… you spared my life… I saved yours," he said. "But don't get it twisted… we are **not** friends… next time we meet… we will be enemies again, we had only hoped to pay Malefor back for cursing us, but we will settle for robbing him of the chance to take you with him to the grave," he said before ordering his friends to leave with him. I never thought sparing the head ape would end up saving my life… but there it is…

I was overjoyed, but in too much pain to express it, I get to live after all, I didn't know how they found me, maybe they heard my cry for help? Or maybe they were just passing through and happened to notice the cave in? Whatever, it didn't matter, I survived… just barely… but I survived. I began to laugh in spite of myself, it was finally over… I won… I finally got to live happily ever after…

Suddenly I saw Cynder and Sparx approach, seeing her face again, it was almost enough to bring me to tears. Cynder quickly helped me to my feet. "Spyro? Are you okay? Is it over?" She asked me. I nodded, I wasn't completely sure the cave in killed Malefor, but it was a pretty safe bet.

Cynder and I walked to the edge of a cliff before she let me lay down, she went to leave but "Cynder… wait," I said, the black dragoness stopped, confused, "There's something… I want to tell you," I said.

Cynder timidly walked back over to me, laying herself down next to me, "What is it Spyro?" she asked. At first I was going to back out, but after all I've been through, I needed to let her know.

So I leaned in close, to where her ears would have been, "I love you too,"I whispered to her, she instantly pulled back, a look of shock on her face, tears began to form in her emerald eyes.

She kept that expression for a while, making me worry I had come on too strong, however, "Y… You **did** hear it…" she said more to herself than me. She was clearly referring to her confession, I guess she figured I had died before hearing it, she then wrapped her neck over mine, "I've been waiting three years to hear you say that Spyro…" she said.

For a moment, everything seemed to vanish, drowned out by the pure love felt between two dragons who've been through hell and back just to get the chance to share this moment… to confess long felt feelings. However, of course, the moment didn't last, "Oh gross!" exclaimed Sparx, "D-Does that mean y-you two are… are…?" Sparx stammered, clearly not as thrilled at the idea of us being together as **we** were.

I snickered a little, which I quickly regretted as my hurt ribs did not like that very much, "Dating? Looks like it buddy," I teased Sparx, earning a giggle from Cynder.

Cynder then turned to me, "So… should we start headed back?" She asked me.

I coughed a little, my body was in so much pain, even thinking about walking was painful, "In a few minutes… I'm not exactly… in walking shape right now," I said with a weak smile.

I looked behind me, getting a good look at the view from the cliff, the sun was beginning to set, the sky washed in a brilliant orange and purple hue, a sky I had just saved along with everything under it for the second time, and hopefully, it would be the last time…

* * *

 **A/N: Readers of the original may remember Malefor's supposed death going a bit differently in the original, I kinda felt like Malefor's face turn in the original came out of nowhere and felt a bit out of place in this more serious story.**

 **I also chose to save Spyro and Cynder's relationship reveal to here since I felt I rushed it in the original and felt it fit better at the end.**

 **Just one chapter to go folks and I can close the book on Remember Me once and for all (barring the possibility of me desiring to do another rewrite in the future, which is highly unlikely but you never know)**


	26. This is Me

**Chapter 25: This is Me**

* * *

The walk back to Warfang was a struggle, given how beaten I was, it only worsened when the adrenaline wore off, I was still trying to process the fact that Cynder and I were together now… as Jason, I never really had a girlfriend, but despite that, it felt right, like we were meant to be together or something… but yet it still felt unreal… love is weird like that I guess. Hell, I was even having a hard time accepting that I actually managed to beat Malefor without dying, just barely mind you, but I did it!

We soon reached the gates of Warfang, the same two guards standing on both sides, I wonder if they still thought I was wearing paint? I wouldn't find out as the guards just opened the gates without a word, allowing Cynder to carry my useless ass through the doors. Is this was being a hero felt like? Because it felt suspiciously the same as after you crashed your bike into an oncoming car, don't ask me how I know that… I'd rather not get into it right now.

As we limped our way to the temple, I couldn't help but notice every eye in the city was fixed onto us. But we didn't pay it any heed, we just headed right into the temple to inform the guardians of our victory, it took all of my effort and concentration not to pass out right there on the steps of the temple, my body was practically demanding I rest, but I didn't want to do that until after we met with The Guardians.

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

"So that's it then? It's finally over?" Terrador said, we had just finished explaining everything to The Guardians, they all seemed both surprised and relieved that we actually managed to win without dying this time

The three elder dragons looked to me for a response, but I was so out of it all I could muster was a simple nod, the guardians all breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I suppose a celebration is in order!" said Cyril, "But… after our little hero here has had a moment's rest, you look dreadful Spyro," he said with a tiny laugh.

If I weren't so out of it, I probably would have been offended by Cyril's comment, but right now, I just wanted to collapse, and collapse I did, right there, on the temple floor, just flopped to the ground like a ton of bricks. "Oh dear," I heard Volteer say, "I guess he really **did** need rest," he commented before I finally fell asleep… too exhausted to even attempt to at least make it to a bed.

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

* * *

"Spyro… hey… wake up!"

My eyes fluttered open to see Cynder standing over me, I was on some kind of cot in the temple. I then noticed Cynder was wearing some kind of strange robe thing, it's colors matched her scales save for the gold lining they had, she had some kind of purple cloth folded on her back. "The guardians are going to address Malefor's defeat to the city, and they kind of want you to be there," she said before sitting herself down, letting the purple cloth slide off her back before picking it up in her claws and handing it to me, "Put this on, Terrador insists we dress for the occasion," she informed me.

Confused and still a bit tired, I put the robe thing on, it was like Cynder's but purple instead of black, wearing clothes as a dragon felt kind of weird, but I still would have liked having these when I was nearly dying of hypothermia earlier. I then followed Cynder through the temple halls, "I'm still having a hard time accepting that it's finally over… that I never have to worry about Malefor ever again," I said as we rounded the next corner.

Cynder nodded, "Me too, but at least now, we get to focus on better things," she said before suddenly kissing me on the lips, catching me completely off guard before she pulled always, "Like the rest of our lives," she said.

After shaking… that… off, we continued through the halls until we found the three guardians waiting for us in their own robe things, "There you are Spyro," Terrador said as we approached, he then motioned for everyone to head out to great the public, however Terrador suddenly stopped me, "I just want to say Spyro… words cannot describe how good it feels that you get to join us in the celebration this time," he said before suddenly... hugging me, Terrador never really struck me as the kind of dragon that would... hug people, but I guess he was just that happy I survived this time, "Shall we?" He said after that rare display of affection, without another word we both stepped outside.

Everyone in town was there, cheering madly as they saw my face, for the first time it really began to register that I was in fact a hero, not just my past self I still only barely remembered, but the current me, who knows what Malefor would have done if he managed to kill me, but thanks to me, we'd never know, and I felt pretty damn good about that.

Terrador then stepped forward to address the crowd, "Citizens of Warfang! Today is a glorious day! Once again we have been saved from Malefor's evil, thanks to the brave efforts of two young dragons, both of whom thankfully get to join us in our celebration, and the peace that will no doubt result from it," he said. Cynder and I both stepped forward, side by side as the crowd cheered, "Thanks to the black dragoness Cynder, and the returning purple dragon Spyro, we are free from Malefor's evil once more!" said Terrador, that last comment whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

When I first came back to this world, I wanted nothing more than to leave it, to go back to being Jason Allen, but now? I could get used to living here, especially now that I had Cynder to spend the rest of my life with. For once, I got to be the hero, get the girl, and live happily ever after with the best friends any guy could ever ask for.

Part of me will always miss my old life… but at least now I knew the life I had now was worth staying for and then some... I knew who I was now... without a shadow of a doubt.

I was a hero, a legend…

I am the Purple Dragon of Legend…

I am Spyro...

I am who I am, and you know what? I couldn't be more proud of that fact…

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it folks! Oh my god I actually managed to finish a story for once instead of losing interest and leaving it to rot! Go me!**

 **I am very proud of how this story turned out, but I'm also kinda glad it's finished now, no I'm not going to give this a sequel, I always felt this story did best as a stand alone thing.**

 **I'm glad I did this though, I've always loved this story's premise and I'm glad I got to actually do it justice this time, it was a long journey, full of faulty computers, annoying wait times between postings, and an unhealthy amount of DrPepper ingestion, but we made it! And I must say, it was all worth it in the end.**

 **I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, or even just read this silly little story of mine, it means the world to me that there are people who care about what I do, and I hope this story lived up to your expectations.**

 **What's next for me you ask? I'm not sure, I kinda want to take a break from writing for a bit, maybe I'll go back to my crossovers, we'll see. Maybe I'll consider remaking another one of my stories, we'll see.**

 **But until then, I'll catch you guys on the flipside! *Gets on a unicorn and rides into the sunset***


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